Nothing But Trouble
by Audrey2419
Summary: He probably should have known better, but he had never been able to resist her siren song. Tony finds himself caught up in the middle of an investigation into arms dealers that takes him from Washington DC to the TBA. Yeah, DiNozzo's in trouble again.
1. Avoiding the Rocks

I don't own NCIS or any of the characters from the show. That's too bad for me. If you want to know a bit more about Eve Dupree then read _Trouble Rides A Fast Horse._ Okay, I had a few requests for a sequel, and my muse decided that Tony and Eve needed another play date. So, here they are. There is just no telling what kind of trouble these two are going to get into…

Avoiding the Rocks

_**Siren song**__ refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad result.  
_

* * *

Gibbs was definitely going to kill him this time.

How had he managed to get himself involved in yet another mess with the CIA? It definitely had something to do with the woman sitting across from him in the bar. When he saw her sitting at the table with a cigarette in hand it should have been a dead giveaway that something was going on; he probably should have known better, but he had never been able to resist her siren song.

It had been six months since he had awakened in the silence of his apartment to find her sitting in the living room like she'd never left. Six months spent exploring whatever it was that had tied them together in the first place. It hadn't been easy. His job involved long hours and stress, and he never knew exactly what it was she was doing from one day to the next. He knew that she had spent incredibly long hours at Langley every day, and that was the extent of it.

When he had received it earlier that day, he hadn't thought twice about the text message to meet her at their favorite blues bar. They often went there after work to drink, dance and decompress, but this time, something was definitely up.

She was wearing that black, low cut, slinky dress and the stiletto heels that always made him want to beg. Hell, she knew it; she had a way of knowing exactly how to play him like a finely tuned instrument. Then again, that did go both ways. No matter where the CIA sent her, she kept coming back to him after each assignment. They had some incomprehensible tie to each other; it had bound them together during their first mission, and kept them coming back to each other now. It wasn't love; it was something more complicated that neither really wanted to define. They just enjoyed the fireworks that went along with whatever _it_ was.

She had quit smoking six months ago, so when he saw her sitting at the table blowing contemplative smoke rings towards the ceiling it should have been enough to send alarm bells ringing in his head. Unfortunately, where Eve Dupree was concerned Tony knew that his judgment wasn't always as sound as it could be.

He sat across the table from her and waited patiently. He knew eventually she would tell him whatever it was that was on her mind. The more time they spent together the better he had gotten at reading exactly what was going on inside that head of hers. He didn't have long to wait. She finally reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope, sliding it across the table to him.

"What's going on here, Eve?" He indicated the cigarette rather than the envelope that he had yet to open. "I thought you quit."

She gave him an amused smile and just shrugged her shoulder casually. "I did, for a while."

"Are you going to tell me what's in the envelope?"

"Tony, just open the damn thing. It's self explanatory."

He took a sip from his martini then turned his attention to the envelope. Opening it he found new documents for Anthony DiSalvo. "What's this for?"

"I've got to go back to Ciudad Del Este. My arms dealer is back from Italy, and I want to get him this time. I'm going in undercover, and I need someone with me. I don't trust Kort, not for this. Besides, he made too many enemies the last time he worked an arms dealer." She stopped short of mentioning the name Rene Benoit, knowing that was still a sore spot with him. "What do you think? It's a three day operation. You're taking leave next week. We go in, get this done, and get out. No problem."

Tony looked unconvinced. He remembered what had happened the last time he'd gone undercover with her. They'd both almost gotten killed multiple times. Then again, it would be an adventure.

"Come on, it'll be fun, Tony. The two of us back in the tropics on the CIA's dime; what could be better?" She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, rubbing her thumb across his palm suggestively.

"How about that week in Miami we planned?"

"Tony, this is three days then we'll go to Miami. I promise."

"You don't make promises, remember?"

"I really hate it when you throw my own words back in my face. I promise, okay? What could possibly go wrong?" She leaned back in her chair and toyed with the small diamond pendant he had given to her for her last birthday.

He thought about all of the possible scenarios, several which included one or both of them dying. He also weighed Gibbs' response to his further involvement with the CIA. It was on his lips to refuse, but then he found himself saying, "Okay, I'll do it. You're right; it'll be fun. Tony and Eve DiSalvo, it kind of reminds me of Bonnie and Clyde."

She smiled and gave him a look that had his pulse racing. He stood and held out his hand to pull her from her chair and said, "Come on, let's go home."

* * *

The next morning at NCIS Tony found himself being called into MTAC with both Director Vance and Gibbs. When he entered the room he found a four-way video conference between NCIS, the SecNav's office, the CIA and General Hamilton Dupree's offices in the Pentagon. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but Gibbs did not look happy. Tony finally leaned over to him and asked in a whisper, "What's going on here"

Gibbs turned his ice blue eyes towards his Senior Field Agent and said just as quietly, "Why don't you tell me?"

Before Tony could reply Vance said, "We're all here. Will someone explain what this operation has to do with NCIS and why you want to borrow my agent?"

The General leaned forward, "Good mornin', Gentlemen. Tony, how're you doing, Son?"

"I'm good, Ham, just curious about what's going on here."

Director John Maxwell motioned for Eve to step up beside him then said, "Agent Dupree has been tracking an Italian Arms Dealer who goes by the code name Apollo. He's been doing business in Ciudad Del Este. We have solid Intel that he's got his eye on the new software being used for our cruise missile systems. This makes this operation fall partially under NCIS' jurisdiction. Our Intel tells us that Apollo is going to be in the TBA for three days next week. Agent Dupree is going in to pick up the target; I would like Agent DiNozzo to go in undercover with her as her back-up."

Gibbs scowled in frustration. He was getting damn tired of random agencies borrowing his Senior Field Agent. "DiNozzo is on my team. Just what are we supposed to do while he's off in South America?"

The SecNav inclined his head to the side and answered, "Special Agent Gibbs, I appreciate your dilemma, that's why we're sending your team along as back up for this operation. I am assigning your team to this project; you leave Monday morning at 0600. Your team is off rotation until this assignment is completed."

Tony could feel Gibbs' eyes boring into him. He'd been right the previous night. Gibbs was definitely going to kill him.

* * *

Gibbs sat brooding at his desk, drinking his coffee at an alarming rate. He couldn't believe this. Tony was going in undercover _again_, with Eve Dupree _again_. This was getting ridiculous, same song, different dance. He had to admit that Tony had seemed happier since she had returned to Washington. Although, he hadn't seen as much of his second in command since she'd reentered the picture. From the familiar way General Dupree had spoken, he assumed that Tony had been spending time with her family. Gibbs admitted it, he was a bit jealous. He considered Tony his _de facto_ son, and it hurt him just a bit that he might have found another family to spend time with. Really though, what did he expect? Did he expect for Tony to never settle down?

His was distracted by the arrival of McGee and Ziva to the bullpen. They looked at Gibbs with trepidation; he was drinking his coffee as if his life depended on it. They had taken an early lunch and discussed the upcoming mission. They agreed that something was definitely hinky about it, but they were excited at the prospect of going to Paraguay. Ziva knew that she would see some of her Mossad colleagues, and she was happy about that. She was worried about working with Eve Dupree again. The last time had almost cost Tony his life. As far as she was concerned Agent Dupree was nothing but trouble.

Tony was settled at his desk working through his back log of paperwork in anticipation of his departure on Saturday morning. He and Eve were going in a couple of days early to get established in the city and to make contact with her local Asset. He was excited about the idea of the mission, but kept thinking about the previous night. Eve liked to play games; it was part of her allure, but sometimes he wished that she'd take a desk job for a change. Knowing her as he did, he realized that the possibility was highly unlikely.

* * *

Tony and Eve met for lunch at a small café near the Navy Yard. He sat down in the chair across from her and promptly asked, "Did you know about that little meeting when you asked me to do this?"

"If I had, do you think I would have asked you about it last night? Give me a bit of credit. That little meeting was my Father's idea. I told him about the mission early this morning, and he didn't like the idea of the two of us going to the TBA without back-up."

Tony flashed a grin. "Ham is a wise man. He knows you better than you think."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You are a bad influence on him. He's gotten over protective the last six months."

"Someone has to protect you. You keep taking on these dangerous assignments, so obviously I'm not doing a very good job of it."

She reached out and put her hand on his cheek and gave him an intense stare, locking her emerald green eyes with his jade ones. "You saved my life. No one has _ever_ done a better job of looking after me. Let's face it, Tony; I'm not exactly low maintenance."

"Yeah, ya think?" He laughed and broke the seriousness of the mood.

She chuckled softly and picked up her menu.

* * *

The night before he was to leave for Paraguay Tony picked up a pizza and a six pack and made his way down the staircase to Gibbs' basement. He found his boss silently working on the boat. He sat on the bottom step and opened a beer and waited for Gibbs to say _something_. Finally after a long silence broken only with the sound of Gibbs sanding the boat he said, "Eve came to me last night with this assignment. I agreed to go with her before I knew you were going in as back-up, but I'm really glad you and the rest of the team are going to be there to watch our sixes."

Gibbs turned from the boat, and, ignoring the beer, went straight for the bourbon. "What am I going to do with you? I don't know what it is about this girl, but when it comes to her you have no common sense. You were going to go to the TBA without back up? When you were on leave so it'd be a week before anyone knew if you were missing? Tony, where's your head at?"

Tony hung his head a bit and replied, "I know, Boss. I was going to tell you, but we got called into that meeting in MTAC before I got the chance."

Gibbs nodded and took a deep breath to control his blood pressure. Getting angry at Tony would only exacerbate a bad situation. "DiNozzo, I want you to be careful. We'll be there on Monday morning, and I expect a full sit rep from you as soon as we're on the ground."

"Of course, Boss. Hey, do you want some of this pizza?"

Gibbs laughed and reached for the pizza box. The two men spent the remainder of the evening in companionable silence while Gibbs continued to work on the boat.

* * *

Early Monday afternoon Gibbs, Ziva and McGee finally made their way to the designated safe house to meet Tony and Eve. They arrived to find it completely empty. Gibbs began to feel a churning in his gut when he called Tony's cell phone and the call went directly to voicemail. They settled in to wait, thinking that he would saunter in soon and have some excuse as to why he wasn't there to meet them. Finally after a couple of hours Gibbs' cell phone rang loudly. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Boss." Tony was whispering, and Gibbs could barely hear what he was saying.

"Why aren't you here with my sit rep, DiNozzo?"

"I've got kind of a situation here, Boss. I can't really talk."

"You better start by explaining to me what kind of situation you've got going on there."

"Apollo got here a day early. We've been tracking him through the city to find out who his contact is. We're holed up waiting for him to make a move. Get McGee to trace this call and get over here. I'm afraid we're going to need some back-up before this is over with. I've gotta go. I'll see you soon."

Gibbs motioned for McGee to get his laptop out and start a trace on the phone call. "Tony, you sit tight. We'll be there ASAP. Don't make a move until I get there."

"I'll try." Gibbs swore loudly as the phone went dead in his hand.

"Grab your gear. DiNozzo's in trouble again."


	2. Mercury Rising

I don't own NCIS or any of the characters from the show. It makes me really sad to have to say that each time. Hmmm, I wonder if I could rent them for a while? Thanks for all of your great reviews. Here is the next chapter in our story...

* * *

Mercury Rising

Over the last fifteen years Eve had spent more time than she really wanted to think about lurking in the shadows of cities like Ciudad Del Este, and she still didn't like it. She and Tony were holed up in a tiny room across the street from a dingy hotel watching their target. Tony was taking a short nap as they waited for their back-up to arrive, and Eve found herself studying him as he slept. He was exhausted, much like she was, but she was accustomed to going days without sleep. She had insisted that Tony catch a nap while he could, because once the target moved then things would happen very quickly, and who knew when he'd get another chance to sleep. They had been following Apollo since Sunday midmorning. He had come into town early; apparently he had a thing for the waitress who worked in the hotel restaurant. The first night they had been in town she and Tony had eaten a late dinner in that exact restaurant with their Mossad contact, Michael Rivkin, and they had made her acquaintance.

The waitress, a beautiful young woman with long black hair and doe eyes had flirted shamelessly with Tony, and Eve had decided she didn't like that very much. In fact, she had felt what she could only describe as jealously clinch in her stomach as she watched her partner smile and make use of his fluent Spanish as he chatted with the girl. Eve realized that she didn't much like the way she was feeling, so she had turned her attention to her other companion. Michael was a handsome, charming man, and she had always enjoyed herself the times she had previously worked with him. Of course, those times were what she referred to as BT or 'Before Tony'.

When she and Rivkin had begun to converse in fluent French that Tony neither spoke nor understood it had gotten his attention rapidly. It didn't matter that they weren't speaking about anything important; Tony had slid his hand up her thigh and gave her a not so gentle squeeze that should have made her realize that she'd gotten her point across. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, she had ignored his subtle warning and continued her conversation. After that she could feel the tension coming off him in waves as they finished the meal and made arrangements to meet the following morning.

They had walked back to their hotel in an uneasy silence, definitely the calm before the storm. They had no sooner walked into their hotel room that the hurricane had struck. When dawn had finally streaked the horizon, she had bruises in several interesting places, and well, it just wouldn't do for Tony to take his shirt off in front of his co-workers. Eve gave a satisfied smile as she recalled the evening; she had learned two very important facts: she loved it when Tony let his dark side come out to play, and jealousy was a very potent aphrodisiac.

They had been stuck in this tiny room for almost twenty four hours waiting for Apollo to make his move. He was firmly ensconced in his room with his lady-love, and showed no signs of wanting to leave. Stake-outs were miserable; she hated the damn waiting that went along with them. Finally, she distracted herself by running her fingers through Tony's hair as she looked down at the man sleeping with his head cushioned by her lap. His deep, even breathing told her he was completely relaxed, not an easy thing to accomplish in this heat. She still didn't know exactly what it was that made her return to him again and again. Whatever it was, it kept her inexplicably tethered to him, and truthfully she had no desire to cut the rope. It was an odd feeling for a woman who had always valued her freedom and independence as paramount, and it was taking some getting used to.

She felt that she really knew Tony. Not the Tony that NCIS seemed to love, the one who cracked jokes and likened everything to movies, but the Tony who was serious and knew how to look right into her soul. She often thought that he was an interesting study in duality, the dark and light both warring for control inside him. Her Tony liked to talk to her about anything and everything and had told her about his traumatic childhood when they were lying together in the dark of his bedroom. He liked to cuddle and give her glimpses into his past and how it had made him the man he was. Some of those memories had been painful for even her to hear. Eve had decided that she had no desire to ever meet his father because she wasn't sure she'd be able to curb her desire to kill the man.

A loud knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She nudged Tony awake and smiled when he opened those expressive, green eyes; his eyes were truly the mirror to his soul. She whispered, "Wake-up, sleepy head and go answer the door."

He stood, stretching out his long frame and groaning when his old sports injuries made themselves known. He opened the door carefully revealing Gibbs, McGee and Ziva. Tony waved them in the room.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes as he studied his Senior Field Agent. Tony was exhausted; he could read the fatigue written all over his features. He put his bag down on the narrow bed and barked, "Sit rep."

"Apollo arrived Sunday morning which was two days earlier than expected. We've been trailing him since we realized that he was on the ground here. He's been in that hotel across the street with his girlfriend since Sunday afternoon." Tony handed Gibbs the binoculars and pointed to the room directly across from them.

Gibbs peered into the lenses and could see directly into the room from this vantage point. The target was lying in bed with his mistress, sleeping the afternoon away. He turned back to Tony and asked, "Do you and Agent Dupree have an extraction plan in place?"

Tony nodded in response. "He's got some of the local talent watching his back. I think we should wait until the next time the girl leaves the room then we let Eve and Ziva distract the guards and we grab him. If we do this right we can have him on the plane before anyone realizes he's missing. He wasn't supposed to be in the city until tomorrow."

"That's good work, Tony." Gibbs clapped a hand on Tony's shoulder and felt him finch visibly. "Are you injured?"

Tony started to shake his head no, but a stare from Gibbs stopped him flat. He finally mumbled, "It's just a scratch."

Gibbs knew that something was going on, but decided that forcing the issue while they were on this mission wouldn't be a good idea. He filed the information away to revisit once they returned to Washington.

* * *

They settled in to wait for their chance to strike, and about two hours later they got it. Ziva and Eve began to prepare for their part of the mission. Both women taking turns changing clothes in the small bathroom and arming themselves before heading out.

McGee had found himself watching the two as they prepared themselves. He had to admit that he was fascinated with them. They were similar in that they were both supremely confident in their own abilities, but completely different in their style. Ziva was all cool calculation and careful planning. Her time at NCIS had tempered her more vicious tendencies and given her a more human side. Tim admired Ziva's style very much. She did her job as efficiently and with as little carnage as possible.

Eve Dupree was a different story entirely, and Tim found himself studying her as slid each of her knives in their appropriate sheathes. She reminded him of a predator, like that tiger that was splashed across her back. There was nothing subtle about her style. She liked to stalk her prey and play with it before she killed it.

Tim watched as Tony handed her the last of her weapons and remembered that last weekend he and Ziva had pulled weekend duty. It was about four months ago, and Tim recalled walking down to his locker to get something when he heard a commotion coming from the gym. He'd stuck his head in to see Tony and Eve sparring with knives. He had been fascinated as he had watched DiNozzo be instructed by the petite woman. Tim had been surprised but not overly shocked when, at a crime scene a month ago, Tony had disarmed one knife wielding assailant and been able to defend himself against the other while he and Tim had waited for their backup to arrive. Like Ziva, Eve Dupree was a dangerous woman; McGee was just glad that she was on their side.

Gibbs had been watching the room across the way and saw the exact moment that Apollo's girlfriend left the room dressed in her waitress' uniform. He turned to his team and barked, "Grab your gear; it's time."

* * *

Ziva and Eve walked together across the street and towards the hotel. Eve turned to her counterpart and asked, "You don't like me very much do you?"

Ziva paused for a moment, considering her answer very carefully. "It is not that I do not like you. I respect you and your abilities very much. I worry about Tony; he is my partner.

Eve pursed her lips in thought then responded. "Why would you worry about Tony? He's fine."

"I do not want him hurt again. He went through so much last year. Are you planning to leave him?"

"Where the hell did _that_ come from?"

"Do you love him?"

Eve cut her eyes at Ziva then said, "Nosy aren't you? Okay, _No_, I'm _not_ planning to leave him and love? I don't know about love, not yet. I can't make promises, Ziva. We're spies, and you and I both know that life comes with no guarantees. You play the cards you're dealt to the best of your ability and pray the rest takes care of itself. I will say this though; if I ever leave him it won't be because I wanted to. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

The Mossad agent gave a private smile and said, "For now. Here is our quarry. Are you ready?"

"Get real; I was born ready."

The two women walked in the lobby and immediately started chatting and flirting with the four guards. They talked the men into following them out of the hotel and into a blind alley for a bit of "fun". Tony and Gibbs who had followed them slipped into the hotel and up to the room without being seen, all the while listening to McGee who was giving instruction on location over their earwigs. Gibbs quickly picked the lock on the door and they crept into the room. Apollo was sound asleep in the bed, so Tony quietly approached the sleeping man and quickly injected a powerful sedative into his neck.

"Well, he should sleep all the way to DC."

Gibbs indicated the door, "Let's get out of here."

Tony nodded and picked up the man in a fireman's carry while Gibbs grabbed all of his belongings from the room. He found a wallet stuffed with local currency so Gibbs helped himself to handful to pay off anyone they encountered on their way out the door.

They made it to the street without incident to find McGee waiting with the jeep and all of their bags. They loaded Apollo inside and cruised by the alley to pick up Ziva and Eve. They found the two women slowly walking towards the street apparently none the worse for wear. The four men were all lying in the alley. Tony couldn't tell if they were unconscious or dead, and truthfully, didn't really want to know. As they got closer he noticed both Eve and Ziva limping slightly, and as soon as they got into the jeep asked, "What happened?"

Ziva ignored his question and turned to Gibbs, "Perhaps both Agent Dupree and I should see a doctor."

Gibbs met Tony's eyes over both women's heads and repeated Tony's question, "What happened, Ziver?"

"All four men were armed with handguns; we were able to disarm three of them, but one got off a lucky shot. It struck me in the thigh. I believe it is a through and through though, so that is good." Gibbs dropped his gaze to her leg and noticed for the first time the blood oozing.

"Shit! Why didn't you just tell us that immediately?"

Tony turned to the woman sitting next to him and without even asking could see that she was favoring her left side. He pulled her shirt away and saw blood seeping from a long slashing wound. "Jesus Christ, Eve. How did this happen?"

"One of them had a razor on his boot. He got in a lucky kick and caught me. Don't worry so much, Tony, Ducky will patch me up as good as new once we get back to DC."

Tony felt his blood pressure start to rise at her cavalier attitude towards her own safety, but he swallowed what he wanted to say and instead tucked her head on his shoulder as they slowly made their way through the crowded narrow, streets toward the airfield.

* * *

The flight back to DC was quiet. Gibbs had done some basic first aid to Ziva's leg to clean it and stop the bleeding. She was currently dozing in one of the seats, the pain medication having done its job. Gibbs and McGee were sitting in seats near Apollo and were watching the prisoner in case he woke up.

Tony had cleaned Eve's wound up and had bullied her into taking a pain pill. She had fallen asleep with her head in his lap as they sat on one of the narrow couches on the CIA's plane. He gently swept her hair back from her forehead and swallowed hard. It was getting more and more difficult for him to watch her continue to get injured when she worked.

He wanted her to come out of the field, but didn't know how to convince her that it was in her best interests to do so. Somehow in the last six months she had crept into every part of his life when he least expected it. He really liked her parents, and had finally met her brother when he had come home on leave from Iraq late last spring. Hell, they were living together for all intents and purposes; they just hadn't made the arrangement formal. His fear was that she wouldn't come home from one of these assignments, and he'd never know exactly what happened to her. Tony lay his head back against the seat and felt himself start to doze. He'd sleep on it, surely when he awoke he would have figured out a solution.

* * *

A couple of hours after they landed in DC and Ducky had seen to the injuries; Gibbs and Tony entered the interrogation room to speak to the arms dealer currently known as Apollo. The man was indignant at finding himself no longer in his hotel room but in a cold interrogation room in an unfriendly nation. He refused to speak English, so Gibbs turned to his Senior Field Agent and let him take over.

Apollo began by asking for a lawyer and was surprised when Tony replied in flawless Italian.

"_I don't think so; we have you here on a violation of the Patriot Act as an Enemy Combatant. You have no rights to an attorney." _He paused for a second to let that bit of news sink in and continued_, "Unless you tell me what I want to know then I'm going to personally escort you to Gitmo and let the interrogators have you. What do you think?" _

The arms dealer sat there for a few minutes with his head on his hands then asked in accented English, "What do you want to know?"

Gibbs gave a feral smile and replied, "Who is your American Contact for the Navy Missile Software?"

The man looked startled at the question and stammered for a few minutes before answering, "I have worked with an American Company based on the east coast. It has holdings in an off-shore bank; that is how I met my contact. This company was part of making components for the software. What kind of deal will that information get me?"

Gibbs and Tony looked at each other then Tony asked quietly, "What is the name of the company?"

Apollo blinked his eyes and swallowed noticeably before replying, "It is a subsidiary of a company based in New York."

Gibbs finally stood and said, "I'm going to give you two hours to think about it, and when I come back to this room you'd better have a better answer than that for me." He strode from the room followed closely by Tony.

Gibbs took a good look at his second in command and said, "Go home and get some sleep. I'll finish this and give you a call as soon as he gives me a name."

Tony nodded. "I have a bad feeling about who that company belongs to, Boss. Call me as soon as you know something, please. I'm going to go and make sure that Eve is resting and maybe get a couple of hours myself."

He left the room on autopilot and headed home. As soon as he entered the apartment he could hear the stereo playing soft music in the background. She was listening to country music this week. That usually meant she had something on her mind. He heard the CD change to Gary Allen and grimaced when _Smoke Rings in the Dark_ began to play. She loved that song and would play it for hours at the time.

He made his way back to the bedroom and found her curled around his pillow, sleeping in his cashmere sweater. He grinned, that damn sweater was her favorite, but she would only wear it after making him put it on for a while.

He took a quick shower to clean up and slid into the bed dressed only in his boxers. Spooning next to Eve, he began to wonder about the company Apollo was so reluctant to give up. A multinational company based out of New York. It could be anyone, but Tony was afraid of what the answer was going to be. He wondered if it might be time to try and get in contact with his father. It had only been ten years since their last conversation. Maybe he should take a trip back home. It really was time that Eve met his 'dear old dad' and long past time his father got a look at the woman he was living with. Tony finally began to fall asleep, and his last thought before drifting off was to wonder what the weather in New York was like this week.


	3. Upping the Ante

Okay, I don't own NCIS. I never have and I never will, sadly for me. This chapter is a whole lot of dialogue that is important to what's coming up next, I promise. I would never make you read this much dialogue for no good reason. Thanks for all of the great, positive reviews and suggestions. I hope you enjoy or try to enjoy the next chapter of our journey…

Upping the Ante

Tony awoke violently, covered in a cold sweat; he couldn't remember the nightmare, only that it had scared the hell out of him. He sat up and looked around the room. Nothing was amiss, but he was alone in the bed. He heard the water running in the bathroom sink and her moving about in the room. Finally, she came back into the dark bedroom and took a good look at him. Her eyes immediately narrowed in concern and she rushed over to the bed and sat beside him.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head to clear the cobwebs from it and mumbled, "Nightmare."

Eve ghosted her fingers over his face and whispered, "It must have been a doozy; you're soaked. Hold on a sec…" She got back up and returned to the bathroom. He heard the water running in the sink again and a minute later she was back with a wet washcloth. "Lie down."

She pushed him back supine on the bed and gently began running the cold cloth over his face and neck. He closed his eyes and sighed in contentment when she slowly made her way down his chest to his stomach then back up again.

"Feel better?" Her tone was low, and he could feel her breath on his neck where she was leaning over him.

"Yeah, thanks." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of him in the big bed. "Evie, what exactly are we doing here?"

"We're lying in bed together." He could hear the laughter in her voice.

"No, that's not what I mean."

Her laughter died abruptly. "Oh."

"Yeah…Oh. I want you to move in with me, officially, name on the lease and everything. We can stay here or find another place if you want."

She lay there frozen; she was so still that if her flesh hadn't felt so warm against his skin he would have sworn she was made of marble. After what felt like forever she finally spoke. "You want me to live here permanently?"

"Oh yeah… I do."

"Why do you want me, Tony?"

"Because I can't imagine you not being here with me. Because I want to wake up with you every morning, and because I want to know that no matter where you go, you always have a home to come back to."

"You really mean that, don't you?" Her voice was thick with emotion and tears that she was struggling to hold back.

"What do you say?"

Eve was shocked to say the least. He had blindsided her with this request. She had thought that Tony was satisfied with their less than formal living arrangements; apparently she had been wrong. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a steep cliff and had two choices: jump or walk away. She knew if she refused then things would change, and somehow the thought of walking away from him made her feel physically ill. Eve did the only thing she could do; she did what she always did in these situations: She took a deep breath and jumped. "Yes."

"Yes, you'll move in here permanently?"

She nodded her head against his chest. "Yes."

In his excitement, Tony squeezed her a bit too tight. He heard her gasp of pain as her wound made itself known again. He released her immediately.

"Oh God, I'm sorry. I almost forgot about that."

"It's okay, really. It's just really sore." She lay there quietly for a few more minutes and said, "I think we might want to find a new place. Somewhere that your co-workers can't just walk in anytime they want. Remember the last time Gibbs came by?"

Tony chuckled then started to belly laugh as he remembered the look on his boss' face when he had used his key to enter the apartment and had found him and Eve lying by the fireplace _in flagrante._ Awkward wasn't even a word that described that scene. Gibbs had turned three shades of red and purple in embarrassment, and Eve had just laughed like a maniac the entire time. Tony had wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. However, that bit of embarrassment had almost been worth it because Gibbs hadn't come back without calling or knocking first since. "Yeah, you're right. Let's find a new place. Maybe your Mother will have some ideas. She is _The Realtor_ in DC."

"I'll call her tomorrow and let her get some places for us to look at."

Tony's phone began to vibrate beside the bed. He glanced at the caller I.D. and sighed when he answered, "Yeah, DiNozzo"

"You decent? I'm coming in. We need to talk." The phone went dead and Tony found himself talking to dead air.

"Sure Boss, come on in. It's only what 0300? It's a perfectly respectable time to come by."

He climbed out of the bed and pulled on a t-shirt and sweats then walked out to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Eve rolled her eyes and grabbed a robe. If Gibbs was coming by at this time of night then it couldn't be good, and there was no way in hell she was going to miss whatever it was he was going to tell Tony.

* * *

Gibbs used his key to enter the apartment. He sighed in relief when he found DiNozzo dressed and in the kitchen and Eve curled up like a cat on the sofa.

"Apollo gave us the name of the company. You were right, Tony, you're not going to like it."

Tony didn't even need the confirmation from Gibbs; he just closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's my Father's company, isn't it? I was thinking that it might be time for me to take a trip to New York and see the old man."

"Why would you do that? We can just bring him in here for questioning. There's no need for you to put yourself through that."

"No Boss, I think it's time. I know he's not a good person, but I just don't believe that he's involved with treason. No, Eve and I are going to go to the estate and I'm going to find out exactly what is going on here."

Gibbs' gaze went to the woman sitting on the sofa. She had been uncharacteristically silent during the exchange. "What do you think, Agent Dupree?"

Eve slanted a gaze at Gibbs and retorted, "_Jethro_, you've seen me practically naked, don't you think you could call me by my first name?"

Tony choked back a laugh and watched his boss blush all over again. He busied himself pouring three cups of coffee. He handed Gibbs his mug to give the older man a chance to regain his equilibrium. Eve did love pushing those buttons, but doing that with Gibbs could turn into a dangerous game. He handed her a mug of coffee with just a touch of milk in it and then fixed his own with cream and too much sugar.

"Christ, DiNozzo, how do you drink it like that?" Gibbs again turned to Eve and asked, "_Eve_, what do you think about Tony's idea to go and see his father?"

She took a sip of her coffee and lit a cigarette while she considered the question. "I think that where his father is concerned you should defer to Tony's judgment; besides, I'm going to be there. Oh goody, I've never done the 'meet the parent' thing." Her tone became slightly mocking during her last statement. She looked at Gibbs and turned serious when she said, "I won't let anything happen to him, I promise."

Tony's gaze went back and forth between his lover and his boss. They were ignoring him for the moment while they sparred back and forth. "Hey you two, I _am_ right here. No need to talk about me like I'm not."

Gibbs gave the woman his patented stare. She countered it with one of her own. He finally relented and said, "You're not going anywhere, are you?"

Eve had finally reached her limit. She snapped, "What _is_ it with you people? Tony is an adult, capable of making decisions about who he wants to live with. I'm not going anywhere, unless it's to an asylum because you people have driven me _crazy!_ I'm here and I'm staying. Deal with it!"

She jumped up and stalked back to the bedroom, all the while muttering curses in six different languages.

"Gee, thanks, Boss. You piss her off and leave and I get to deal with it."

"Get used to it. How soon can you get a flight to New York?"

"We can probably get one late tomorrow. By the by, we are going to be living together for real. I really do appreciate how much you guys care, but can you back off a bit?"

Gibbs took a big gulp of his coffee and then gave a sigh. "Sure, Son, if that's what you want. We'll back off, but remember if you need anything, come to us first."

"Will do, Boss, will do."

* * *

1600 the following afternoon found Tony and Eve on a plane headed to JFK. She had somehow managed to get them upgraded to first class instead of the dreaded coach, so he was happy in the spacious seat. He kept thinking about meeting his father, and butterflies started a symphony in his stomach. He glanced at the woman sitting serenely in the seat next to him and laced his fingers with hers. She turned her perceptive gaze up and asked, "Nervous?"

He started to shake his head but stopped himself. "Yeah, just a little bit."

"Isn't that just backwards? I'm the one who is meeting your father. Shouldn't I be the nervous one?"

"Evie, I wish this weren't necessary." He fell silent then whispered, "I wish for a lot of things."

She squeezed his hand and replied, "Like what?"

"I wish it was my mother you were meeting. I wish that we were sitting on the beach in Miami right now."

She snorted in amusement. "There'll be plenty of time to sit on the beach. We've got to take a trip there and get my stuff and close the apartment on Calle Ocho."

"Will you sell it?"

"No! How could you think that? Besides, we'll need a place to stay when we go down there every year for our vacation. I'm half Cuban; I like staying in touch with my roots."

Tony's mind locked on five words 'Every. Year. For. Our. Vacation. All of a sudden the thought of facing his father and possibly finding out that he was involved in stealing military hardware didn't seem so daunting.

* * *

Tony steered the rental car down the street in Southampton. Eve glanced out the window. All of the lawns were so green and lush. She couldn't believe the wealth that was quietly apparent in the homes she was seeing. Tony slowed down and made a turn in the longest driveway she had ever seen. A few minutes later they stopped at the guard's office.

"May I help you, sir?"

Tony gave a grim smile and flashed his badge. "Will you let Mr. DiNozzo know that his son is here to see him?"

The guard did a double take then grabbed his radio. A minute after that the gate swung open and Tony drove them up to the curved driveway. As soon as he got out of the car, Tony could feel eyes on him. He opened the door for Eve and helped her out. She flashed a smile at Tony, and grasped his hand as they walked up the steps to the enormous double doors.

She cocked her head and looked up at him, studying his profile. "You ready?"

Tony smiled down at Eve, grateful for her support and replied, "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this thing."

Before he could ring the door it swung open. There Tony stood, face to face with his closest living blood relative.

"Hi, Dad. It's been awhile."

* * *

Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. watched his son pull up to the door and was surprised to see him help a woman from the car. He was shocked that his son would feel the need to bring his girlfriends here to meet him. The older man was enjoying full retirement now, and the only regret that he had in his life was how monumentally screwed up his relationship was with his only son. Mr. DiNozzo was almost excited at the thought of seeing Tony. Maybe they could mend some fences; he accepted the fact that his son would never run the business, so perhaps they just needed to work through the rest. He finally decided he couldn't wait and so before the maid could do it, he walked over to the door and pulled it open himself. A second later he was looking into the green eyes that had always reminded him so much of his sweet, beautiful Sarah, Tony's mother. "Hello, Anthony. Please come in and introduce your charming companion to me."

* * *

Eve felt a bit like she was stuck in an episode of the _Twilight Zone_. She had actually expected the elder DiNozzo to refuse to admit them to the house when in fact he had welcomed them both. Tony was nervous, but then again, so was his father. She was sitting quietly in a chair next to Tony watching as the two men danced around the conversation that _had_ to take place.

"Anthony, I just don't know what to say. I haven't run the company in a year now; I've been enjoying my retirement here. I was never the most 'by the book' guy out there, but even I draw the line at treason. I want to get to the bottom of this. Why don't we go into the city tomorrow and figure this out."

Tony nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, we'll do that. I want to clear this up so we can put this guy and his accomplices where they belong."

Mr. DiNozzo turned his attention to Eve. She had been silent during their entire discussion, and had appeared to study him with an intensity that made him feel a bit nervous. He hadn't gotten much more than her name when they were introduced by his son, so he decided to use the direct approach. "What is your relationship to my son?"

She didn't even flinch but flashed him a smile when she said, "Tony and I live together."

"What do you do?'

"I work for the government. My duties are mostly classified, National security and all that. You'll understand if I can't explain any further."

He nodded his head, racking his brain for where he had heard her last name, "Dupree…Dupree… ah, I remember. I met a charming gentleman and his wife two years ago at a benefit at the UN. A General Hamilton Dupree and his lovely wife, Isabella. Do you know them?"

"They're my parents. Wow. It's a much smaller world than I thought." She slanted a glance at Tony who looked a bit shocked. She mumbled, "Who would've known that our parents have met each other already?"

* * *

Two hours later Eve went looking for Tony, and found him inside the stables. He was standing by a stall feeding one of the horse present pieces of an apple he'd taken from the kitchen. She walked up beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Nice barn."

"Yeah, I used to hide out here when I was a kid and he was drunk. The horses would never tell on me. He wants me to forgive him, Evie. What the hell do I do about that?"

"You're asking me?"

"There's no one else here. Yeah, what do I do?"

"Tony, I'm the woman who spent fifteen years of her life looking for revenge. I'm definitely not the poster child for love and forgiveness, but if you want my opinion, don't rush into anything. Let's figure out this thing with Apollo and your dad's company. Let the rest take care of itself."

He nodded, "You're a wise woman, Eve Dupree."

She chuckled into his chest. "That's what I keep trying to tell them at Langley. Maybe you should try."

He laughed quietly and continued to feed the horses.

They continued to chat about everything and nothing, him giving her more pieces of his past as the memories came to him. Unbeknownst to both of them, there was another person hidden in the barn during their conversation, and when the name Apollo was mentioned, the spy grabbed their blackberry and began to send a furious text message to a desk in New York City. The man at that desk looked at the message and sent one back just as quickly. The spy glanced at the screen and blanched visibly when the order came down. The message simply read, _"KILL THEM" _


	4. Running with Scissors

Okay, I don't own NCIS. I never have and I never will, sadly for me. Well, I thought it was time that these two finally verbalized whatever it is they're doing. You tell me, too sappy? By the way, I saw the new _Star Trek_ movie today. If you haven't gone, then please do so immediately. Great, great movie. Well here we go with the next chapter in our journey. Enjoy…

* * *

Running with Scissors

Forgiveness was a word that Tony had heard way too many times during his career first as a cop then a federal agent. Although, honestly he couldn't say how many times it had been said where it pertained to him. He stood under the shower spray, letting the hot water pummel his head and neck, all the while trying to make heads or tails of the changes that had occurred in his father.

There wasn't a drop of alcohol in the entire house, and Tony knew where all of the hiding places would be. His father had turned the billiard room where he had once done so much business into a fully functional gym complete with a trainer who came by several days a week. When he'd asked about the reasoning for all of it, as great as it was, his father had explained about the heart attack that had almost killed him the previous summer.

The only fly in the ointment was the fact that his father wanted his forgiveness for the past. That was a concept that he just was having a hard time wrapping his head around. Eve wouldn't even give him any advice, preferring to stay neutral until he made a decision. He wanted her to have an opinion, after all, she had one for everything else, but all she would say was that she would support whatever decision he made where his family was concerned.

He heard the shower door open and a rush of cold air enter the space. A second later he felt her press her body against his as she slid into the shower with him.

"You're going to make us late. Other people need a shower too, you know."

He turned around abruptly and pushed her against the wall. "You know coming in here with me is guaranteed to start something. Now, who's making who late?"

"Control your animal urges." She was giggling, and he loved the way it sounded. She only let her guard down this much with him. "Hurry up, Tony; seriously, I need a shower. I was using your father's gym earlier."

"Ahh, so that's where you disappeared to this morning. I wondered when I woke up and you weren't in bed with me."

She grabbed the soap from him and pushed him back. "Turn around, I'll wash your back, then you get out of here and let me get ready. We need to leave for the city soon, and I really want a cup of coffee."

* * *

Two hours later the three of them were in the backseat of Mr. DiNozzo's limo with his driver handling the wheel and his bodyguard riding shotgun. Eve leaned back in the plush, leather seats and watched father and son try to have a conversation. It was stilted, but they were making progress. She was pleased that Tony was even trying, though truthfully, she still had the urge to throttle the man. That was her problem, and not one she felt inclined to push onto Tony.

"Dad, you still keep a bodyguard on staff even though you're retired?"

"Of course I do. Kidnapping is still a very lucrative way to make a living, especially overseas."

Tony reached out and closed the glass between the front and back of the car. "How do you vet them? Do you do it yourself, or do you use a company"

"My head of security at the office always took care of that for me."

"Mr. Lynch is still with you?"

"No, he retired two years ago. I have a new guy. He's formally with the CIA, a good man."

Eve leaned forward. "What's his name?"

"His name, why?"

Her tone became even more urgent when she repeated, "What is his name?"

Mr. DiNozzo gaze traveled back and forth between his two companions. "His name is Jeff Davis."

Tony turned a questioning gaze to Eve and was disturbed to see the blood drain from her face. "Who is he, Evie?"

Eve reached into her bag and pulled out her encrypted phone. She snapped it open and began dialing a number while at the same time asking him, "Do you have your Sig with you?"

Before he could answer she held up a finger to stop his comment and turned her attention to the phone. She began speaking in rapid French. The only word Tony recognized was the name she spoke. "Trent."

He turned to his father and said, "I think that she recognized that name and is checking him out."

"Why is she speaking French and not English?"

Tony gave a wry grin and watched his father intently when he said, "Well, that's probably because she doesn't want us to know what she's saying." He grabbed his cell and said, "I need to call Gibbs and give him a sit rep."

"Son, just what is it you do?"

Dad, I really think that the shit is getting ready to hit the proverbial fan, so let's hold off on this conversation until we figure out what's going on." He turned his attention to his phone and said, "Boss, I think we have a lead. Can you get McGee to check out the name Jeff Davis? Allegedly he's former CIA. Yeah… Yeah, I know that… She's on the phone now… Of course I will… Fine… I'll wait for your call."

He hung up the phone and turned to Eve who was doing the same. She spoke first, "Trent is running background checks for me. I assume you called Gibbs."

"Yeah, McGee is doing the same. Between the two we should find something out. Dad, you need to stay close to us and away from your bodyguards and security until we find out who this guy is. The timing is too weird though."

Mr. DiNozzo scoffed, "Coincidence, son. You're both getting worked up over nothing."

"I don't believe in coincidences, and when it comes to possible treason, neither should you…"

Whatever else he had to say was cut off as the car came to an abrupt halt and the door beside Eve was pulled open forcefully. She turned her head to face the threat and came face to face with a Glock. She didn't even flinch when she turned to Tony and said, "So much for relaxing in the country."

Tony's hand itched to reach for his weapon, but he was unwilling to risk her life by trying it. The man leaned in and Mr. DiNozzo said in surprise, "Jason, what are you doing?"

The driver smiled and replied, "I'm doing what I was ordered to do. Aaron is going to keep an eye on the two of you while I take care of her."

Eve allowed herself to be dragged from the car while the bodyguard opened the other door and ordered the two men out.

Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. was frightened. His own employees had turned against him. He glanced at his son and found that he appeared completely relaxed. He whispered, "Anthony, that man is going to kill your… well, whatever it is she is to you. Why aren't you upset about it?"

Tony had a hard knot in his stomach. He knew that Eve was going to do something and was praying that she wouldn't get herself killed in the process. He cast an appraising glance over the man watching their every move and said, "You'll see in about another minute. Keep an eye on Eve and your driver."

Both men turned their gaze to the petite woman who currently had a gun held to her head. She didn't look frightened, if anything she looked bored.

Eve cocked her head up at the man holding the gun on her and said, "Jason is it? Now Jason, I hope you don't think this is the first time that someone has held a gun to my head."

The driver looked confused by her nonchalance and mumbled. "What?"

She sighed then continued, "Yeah... what?" Taking advantage of his confusion she reached for the knife concealed at her waist. Pulling the wickedly sharp blade out she simultaneously stabbed him in the leg and moved away from the gun as he fired it.

When the bodyguard became distracted enough to turn his attention to his companion, Tony quickly reached for his Sig and double-tapped the man in the chest. He started to run over to Eve, but stopped short when she pulled out her own gun and put two slugs into the back of Jason's head.

"No one holds a gun on me and lives to tell about it." She walked back over to Tony and his shocked father. "Mr. DiNozzo, are you okay? You look a little pale."

"Who are you?"

Tony put a steadying hand on his father's shoulder and replied, "She works for an agency that shall remain nameless. Dad, you're a smart man, surely you can put it together."

Both Tony and Eve knew the exact moment the elder DiNozzo put the puzzle together. His eyes got wide and he looked between his son and the petite woman next to him. "I imagine it's some story, how the two of you met, I mean."

Eve chuckled. "Yeah, we could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. Literally." She paused and walked back over to the dead driver and retrieved her knife. She cleaned it then replaced it in its sheath. "Tony is actually an NCIS Special Agent. I'm… well… I'm something else entirely. The less you know the better off you'll be. Tony, we need to get the hell out of here and reevaluate our position. I think we've discovered the culprit. Now it's just finding him."

"I agree. Dad, do you have somewhere safe you can go until this blows over?" He turned to Eve and continued, "Eve, do you know anyone who could keep an eye out for him until this is tied off?"

She nodded. "Let me make a phone call." She pulled out the phone once again and this time began speaking in rapid Creole.

Mr. DiNozzo watched Eve in disbelief as she conversed. He turned to his son and asked, "How many languages does she speak?"

"Six or seven. I lose count."

Eve snapped her phone closed and turned her attention back to both men and said, "A friend of mine from Haiti will meet us in one hour at a diner on 73rd street. He's ex military and completely trustworthy. Let's go, gentlemen. If we hurry we'll have time for coffee."

* * *

Tony gave a sigh of relief once his father was in the capable hands of Eve's friend. They were sitting in a secluded booth in the back of the diner. He looked closely at her and asked, "You okay?"

She nodded. "How do we keep getting in these situations?"

He looked at her in disbelief. "Wait a sec., weren't _you_ the one who came to _me _with this mission?"

She gave a crooked grin. "Yeah, I know, my fault entirely. What's our next move?"

"We need to know everything about Jeff Davis, if that is indeed his real name. What do you know about him? Don't tell me you don't. I saw your face when my father said his name the first time."

"I can tell you it's definitely not his real name. It's probably one of a dozen identities he has used over the years. He is a spy that much is true. He retired about five years ago and went into 'private security'. He's not much more than a glorified merc. Trent and John will have more luck than McGee, trust me on that. John has worked with him and probably knows him better than anyone else."

"Why would they come after us like that? What drew them out?"

"Someone must have overheard our conversation in the stable last night. I'd bet your father's estate is full of spies for Jeff."

"So what are we going to do until we hear from our people?"

She smiled and reached for her phone. "Leave it to me."

* * *

Gibbs was having a hard time wrapping his head around this entire operation. He had just spoken to the SecNav and Vance and had been told that his entire team was on its way to New York to back DiNozzo up.

The name Jeff Davis had invoked a response as soon as McGee had put it into the system. The director of the CIA had called a conference and Gibbs had found himself in MTAC with Vance looking into the faces of Maxwell and Trent Kort. They had been less than forthcoming with the information where Davis was concerned, but did say that Agent Dupree and DiNozzo had everything under control. Somehow Gibbs seriously doubted that. His gut was screaming at him that this operation was seriously screwed up.

He turned to McGee and Ziva and said, "Get your gear and grab your overnight bags. We're on the next plane to New York."

* * *

John Maxwell turned to Kort and said, "Get to New York and give them some back-up. She and Tony are going to need it. The last time I spoke to Jeff was when he retired from the agency. He wasn't stable then, and I suspect he's not stable now. He could have amassed a private army; especially with the resources he had available to him at DiNozzo, Sr.'s company."

"Yes sir, I'll take care of it for you."

"Dismissed."

* * *

Tony glanced around the hotel room, smiling at it opulence. He and Eve had just registered at the Plaza Hotel as Mr. and Mrs. Anthony DiSalvo. After getting a look at the room he was very glad that she had thought to bring along their alternate identification. They were definitely incognito for now. He was sure that Gibbs would be in the city soon, and who knew exactly who the CIA would send. Tony only hoped it wasn't Trent Kort; he still couldn't stand that bastard.

He walked onto the balcony of the penthouse room and found Eve sitting on the ledge smoking a cigarette. "Are you planning to quit again?"

She nodded and turned her face up to the sunshine. "Once we're done with this I will."

"I was afraid you were going to get shot earlier today. Have you ever considered doing something slightly less dangerous?"

"_What_, like _you_? Tony, you could get killed every time you put on your gun and go to the office. This is what we do."

He leaned his head onto her shoulder and said into her neck. "It would kill me if something happened to you."

"Yeah? I feel the exact same way. Aren't we a pair?" She dropped the cigarette into a plant holder and pulled him closer. Tony picked her up and carried her back into their room. He collapsed on the sofa with her in his lap. He brushed her hair back from her face and gently traced her jaw line with his fingertips. "I love you, Evie; I can't lose you."

She looked into his eyes, always the best mirror to his state of mind. What she saw nearly unnerved her. His emotions were so raw and intense that she could feel the tension flowing off his body. Tears pooled into her emerald green eyes making the orbs shimmer like precious jewels. There were so many things that she wanted to say, yet couldn't find the words. "You're not going to lose me, Tony. I'm not going anywhere."

"You could have been killed earlier."

"We all could have been killed. Don't waste time on what could have been. Think about what can be. I learned during my first assignment to never look back and never have regrets. If you do it any other way then the guilt will eat you alive. You've got to learn that, Tony. You feel way too much. You're going to burn out much too fast. Where will I be if I don't have you?"

"You'll be fine without me. You always are."

"No, you're part of my soul now. I can't make it without you, not anymore."

"Tell me, Evie, what do we do now?"

"We do what we've always done. We take it one day at a time and live each one to the fullest with no regrets."

"I love you."

"I…" She paused for a second then took another leap off of that cliff, "I love you too, Tony. Forever."

"Forever?" He repeated in a whisper.

She nodded; she was sitting so close to him that she could feel his breath on her skin and feel his heartbeat. The combination gave her goosebumps when she confirmed. "Yes, forever."

* * *

At JFK Gibbs and his team concentrated on getting a rental and out of the airport. "McGee, find Tony and Eve. We really need to touch base with them."

"Uh Boss, how. They're not going to be registered under either of their real names."

Ziva looked at both men. They were not used to dealing with spies. "Try the identity that they were using in Paraguay. Check for Anthony or Eve DiSalvo. You will find them."

Gibbs nodded his head in agreement. "That's good thinking."

A few minutes later McGee piped up, "Got 'em. They're at the Plaza."

Gibbs looked at his team and replied, "Well, let's go. I guess we're at the Plaza too."


	5. Setting the Stage

I don't own NCIS or any of the characters. However, I do love to take them out and play with them as much as possible. I promise to put them back in pristine condition. I don't know how I feel about last night's finale. Tony rocked though. That's the Tony I love to see. It's a pity they don't let him out to play very often. This update will be it until I get back from the beach. I'm off for a long weekend in the sun. Please enjoy the next chapter of our journey…

Setting the Stage

Jeff Davis sat in his large corner office at DiNozzo, Inc. and enjoyed the obvious signs of wealth surrounding him. He had really fallen into a good thing here; the old man had retired the previous year after a heart attack had nearly ended his life. Davis smirked to himself, it had been difficult to arrange that heart attack, but he'd found a way to make it happen. The software for the Navy's Cruise Missile Systems was worth millions, and he was going to have his piece of that pie. The only fly in his ointment was the appearance of the old man's son. Special Agent Anthony D. DiNozzo, Jr. was going to be a thorn in his side. To top it all off DiNozzo, Jr. had managed to attach himself to Eve Dupree who had always been John Maxwell's favorite. Davis had never met the woman, though he had heard of her. She had spent much of her career away from Langley, but he had still heard the stories. Killing the son was going to be much more difficult than he had originally anticipated, but it was not an insurmountable task. It was just going to take finesse. Davis smiled to himself; finesse was something he had spent a career specializing in.

* * *

Tony and Eve had fallen asleep on the couch in exactly the same position they had been sitting in. The loud ringing of the telephone on the coffee table finally awoke them from their slumber. Eve was the first to react and reached around Tony to grab the phone.

"Yes"

"_Mrs. DiSalvo, we have a Mr. Gemcity and his companions to see you. May we send them up to your suite?"_

"That will be fine. Send them up. Call room service and send up coffee as well as a selection of fruit, and pastries."

"_Yes, Ma'am."_

Tony gently took the phone from her and set it back on the cradle. "I guess Gibbs is here."

"You knew he'd find us, sooner rather than later. I'll get them their own room while you give him a full sit rep."

Tony had been gently caressing her neck with his lips as she spoke. Her breath hitched and she moved closer to him involuntarily. "Don't start something we can't finish."

He took a deep breath and kissed her hard on the lips, stopping before they both got lost in the moment. "You're right. Get them their own room."

She laughed softly and gently extricated herself from his lap. She gave him a quick once over then said, "You might want to take a couple of minutes and get yourself together before Gibbs and company walk in here."

He gave a sheepish grin and walked into the bedroom and shut the door.

Eve busied herself with putting away their meager luggage, making a mental note that they both needed to do some shopping if they were planning on staying in the city for any length of time. When the knock came on the door she was ready and went to open it immediately.

Gibbs was frustrated. He was sick and tired of jumping through hoops. He wanted to see Tony, and the plane trip, the godforsaken airport, and then all of the hoopla the hotel had put them through had done a thorough job of souring his mood. To top it all off he really needed coffee. When Eve pulled the door open she became the recipient of his mood. "Why the _hell_ would you choose _this_ hotel to stay in? I hope you know that NCIS is _not_ footing the bill for this! Where the hell is DiNozzo?"

Eve shut the door behind her, now unwelcome, guests and turned to Gibbs. "Are you finished, _Jethro_?" The emphasis she put on his first name caught his attention immediately and had him turning his laser like glare on high.

Eve ignored this and continued. "Do you think you could come in here and sit down before you start snapping my head off? I chose this hotel because it's my favorite, and _NO_, I don't expect NCIS to pay for it. As for Tony, he'll be in here in a second." She turned dismissively from him and returned to the door to let room service in. She signed the check with a flourish and turned back around. "Why don't you have some coffee and calm down?"

She stalked away and entered the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. A few seconds later Gibbs, Ziva and McGee heard what sounded like a very animated discussion take place entirely in Spanish. Gibbs watched Ziva. She had begun to smile as soon as she heard what was being said. When Eve began colorfully elaborating on the many ways she wanted to kill Gibbs, Ziva started to laugh. Gibbs finally couldn't stand it and asked, "Well, what're they saying?"

Ziva wondered how best to answer that question without offending anyone. She finally settled on, "She doesn't like you very much."

Tony came out of the bedroom a second later and walked right up into Gibbs' personal space. "I thought you told me you were going to back off, Boss. I don't know what you said, but she's pissed."

Gibbs grunted, "She'll live."

Tony realized that he wasn't going to win this argument so he just let it go. Eve was getting them a reservation at another hotel. She had snarked that if Gibbs wasn't careful it would be at the YMCA. He stepped away from his boss and sat down at the desk and began to give a complete sit rep beginning with their arrival at his father's estate and ending with the incident at the car that morning. By the time he finished Eve walked back into the room and handed Gibbs a slip of paper with hotel information on it.

She gave a sly smile, "Here is your hotel reservation. I'm sure that NCIS won't have a problem paying for it." Having said that, she picked up her cigarette case and lighter then walked out on the balcony to smoke. She pushed herself up to the ledge and sat with her legs dangling over the side and her back to the room.

Eve enjoyed the relative solitude the balcony gave her. She needed to think and couldn't do it with Gibbs glaring at her every second. Had she really told Tony she loved him? Sure, she had played with the notion of saying it but had never been ready to go that far. Well, as her Grandmother Dupree used to say, "In for a penny, in for a pound." She did love him. He had slowly seeped into every part of her life until she couldn't see being without him. The only problem with feeling as she did was that it seriously put a crimp into her career. How could she continue to travel as extensively as she was used to? Tony already wanted her to take a position that gave her much less exposure. She took one last drag on her cigarette and dropped it into the plant holder that was behind her. One mission at a time, once they had Davis neutralized, then she'd worry about Tony and her career.

* * *

Davis looked in disbelief at the company wide email that had been received just moments ago. He couldn't believe that his people had failed at taking out the old man at least. Now, DiNozzo, Sr. had emailed a company-wide memorandum so all employees would know that his son was coming in to the offices and all employees should give him whatever assistance he requested. It wouldn't do for DiNozzo or Dupree to find him still at the offices, so it was time to clear out and finish the rest of his operation from another site. He could send his people after them from anywhere in the world. He didn't have to be here in New York, but he was planning to stay until he knew that he had all of the components to sell the guidance system. He wasn't going to be able to get anything from Apollo, not now, but there was an Israeli that he could work with. Davis still felt very confident about the positive outcome of his mission. However, time was of the essence, so he decided to try and make contact with Michael Rivkin. First, ah, first though he was going to leave a little surprise for whomever might come to search his office.

* * *

Tony had mixed feelings about entering the tall glass doors to his father's company. As per their earlier arrangements, his father had sent an email announcing his arrival at the offices. He had dressed carefully for the invasion in one of the Armani suits he and Eve had purchased in Miami on their last assignment. She walked sedately beside him. They were closely followed by Gibbs, Ziva and McGee. They had decided that a direct assault would be the best method of finding out exactly what was going on. Upon entering the building they flashed their badges and were taken directly to the main office formally occupied by Tony's father.

Tony surveyed the enormous office. It was still filled with his father's things. He surveyed the pictures that filled the shelves of the bookcases. He had already found one of him with his parents. It had been taken at the Southampton house the summer before his mother died. He smiled at the picture and took it off the shelf. He was keeping this one for himself. As he continued to look around he was surprised to find several other pictures of him. There was one from his last game at Ohio State; Tony grimaced at the sudden memory of Brad Pitt breaking his leg, finally he found a picture of him taken this year. It was a picture from his last birthday party which Eve had organized it at his favorite restaurant. He recognized the scene. He was opening the present that Abby and McGee had just carried over to him. He had laughed at the huge print that Abby had created and had called "Look Before You Leap." Yeah, that picture from the jumper's crime scene had been the highlight of his party, and had a prime spot on the wall in his living room. He stared at the photo. It was obviously a surveillance photo. Had his father been having him followed? This was just one more thing that they were going to have to discuss.

His attention was diverted when he heard McGee chortle in victory when he broke the encryption that Davis had put into the computer system.

"Okay, Boss." McGee began, "We should be able to monitor everything that happens in this system from our offices in DC."

Gibbs had been watching his Senior Field Agent closely as he walked around the offices. He had become concerned when Tony stood and simply stared at a picture for what had seemed like forever. He finally felt compelled to ask, "You okay?"

Tony tucked that picture in his bag with the other one and replied, "Yeah, I'm okay. What did Eve and Ziva get up to?"

"They're searching the building for Davis. I'm hoping we can find him here and take him into custody without the CIA getting any more involved than it already is."

Tony snorted, "I wouldn't hold your breath, Boss."

The three men were finishing up and getting prepared to leave when the building around them shook and the ceiling rattled. They ran out of the office and towards Davis' space. They arrived to find smoke coming from the office but no sign of Eve or Ziva. They went into the ruined office without waiting for the fire department and found the two women huddled together underneath a huge credenza, shielding each other from the blast. They climbed out, dusty, covered with scrapes and emerging bruises, but luckily none the worse for wear.

Ziva and Eve took turns dusting each other off then exchanged a long, meaningful look. Whether or not the other agents knew it this had turned into a spy game, and the two women were well acquainted with the rules of that game. They turned to the three men converging on them and said in unison, "We're fine."

Ziva began sifting through the rubble of the office and said, "It is obvious that he has gone from here. He left the bomb as a parting gift, yes?" She looked at Tony for confirmation of her idiom use.

"You would get that one right, Zee-Vah." He turned to Eve and inspected her closely. She didn't appear upset, but then again, she never did. "Ziva's right. Davis rabbited on us. I hate it, Boss, but we're going to need to use all of Ziva and Eve's contacts to catch this guy. He's a freaking Houdini."

Gibbs nodded in assent. He didn't like it, but it appeared they had no choice but to get in bed with both Mossad and the CIA to find this guy. "Alright, let's get a flight back to DC first thing in the morning and get to work."

* * *

Eve sat out on the balcony of the suite with her phone, waiting. Night had fallen, and she knew that Revkin would be calling her soon. The night air was cool and refreshing but she was impatient to get this over with; it was a universal truth that sometimes her job really sucked. She knew that she needed to give her fellow operative a sit rep and make sure that he was prepared when Davis finally contacted him. The man was going to need a broker for his missile guidance system, and that would give them the edge. Her phone rang.

"Dupree."

"_Evangeline, it's a pleasure to hear your voice again."_ He spoke perfect French. She smiled; Michael was the only person who ever called her by her full name.

She replied in kind. It was frustrating keeping secrets from Tony, but it was part of her job._ "Hello Michael. The target has done a disappearing act. He will be contacting you I'm certain. Are you prepared?"_

"_Of course I am. We have set up the scenario, and everything is going as planned. Do not worry. Tell me, will you be with Agent DiNozzo the next time I see you?"_

She frowned into the phone. She and Michael had enjoyed a brief affair a couple of years ago, and he always made it a point to remind her of it whenever they spoke_. "Yes." _She hoped the sharp one word answer would convey her irritation at his question. She felt Tony's presence behind her, and turned her head to flash a smile at him. _"Call me the minute he makes contact with you. I want to make sure that we can extract him alive. I want his contacts."_

"_Of course. I will be in contact soon."_

"_Good luck."_

She snapped the phone closed and gave Tony her full attention. She saw that he held a champagne flute in his hand. "I thought you might like a drink."

"Thank you. You read my mind." She took a sip and closed her eyes in appreciation of the vintage. "Lovely."

"What are you up to, Evie?" He had his arms folded against his chest and was watching her closely.

"I'm up to my job. I'm tracking down Davis, using any and all of my contacts."

"Contacts you don't speak English to, or do you just not want me to know what you're saying?"

"Tony, don't do this. My job always has and will always involve me keeping secrets. You know that. There are things that I do that you don't want to know about, trust me."

"I do trust you. I just wish you trusted me."

She put the glass down and stood abruptly, advancing on him with each word she spoke. "I trust you more than any other person on this planet. I'm trying to protect you. Do you know what would happen to you if anyone even thought I had told you as much about my day-to-day activities as I have? You'd be dead. I love you, and I will do whatever I have to do to protect you from the consequences of my job."

He held up his hands to stop her. "I'm sorry; I'm just worried about you. It's a part of your life that you don't include me in, and I don't want anything to happen. I love you."

"Forgiven. Don't ever forget. No matter where they send me, I will always come home to you. I promise you that."

* * *

In their hotel suite a few blocks down, Gibbs was drinking coffee reading intelligence reports on Davis, McGee was monitoring the computers at Mr. DiNozzo's offices, and Ziva had already called Mossad and found out that Michael Rivkin was already working on the op with Eve Dupree. She frowned, wondering why she had not been told until now. The only answer she had gotten was that it had been need to know. She made a mental note to speak to both Eve and Michael separately to get their thoughts on this. She turned to Gibbs. "I have spoken to Mossad. We already have an operative involved in this. Michael Rivkin has been working with Agent Dupree for quite some time. In fact, he met both her and Tony in Ciudad Del Este this week."

Gibbs grunted, and she didn't know if he was responding to her or displaying his dissatisfaction at the coffee provided by the hotel.

Gibbs took a sip of the weak brew sitting by his side. He wasn't happy to know that DiNozzo was in neck deep both with Mossad and the CIA. If he wasn't careful the intelligence community was going to poach his agent right out from under him. He thought he'd put a stop to this very thing last year, but apparently he hadn't. He made a mental note to speak to Vance upon their return to NCIS. He wanted to make sure that they kept Tony where he belonged.

* * *

Jeff Davis sat in the first class cabin on a plane headed to Brazil. Rio was going to be a nice change, and then he was headed to Ciudad Del Este to contact Rivkin. Ah yes, this was going to be sweet. His plans to kill Tony DiNozzo were still in play, and he was going to become a millionaire. He sighed and took a glass from a passing stewardess. Things were definitely on an upswing.


	6. The Show Must Go On

I still don't own NCIS. I really, really wish I did... I had some time on my hands this weekend since my trip got postponed, so I decided to give you an update. I hope that everyone is enjoying the NCIS Marathon on USA Network today, I know I am. Here's the next chapter of our journey...

The Show Must Go On

Gibbs didn't like cooling his heels waiting for "contacts" and spies to solve his cases for him, but in this case he had no choice. The team had been back in DC for over a month now with no new leads. DiNozzo had been right, this guy was Houdini; he'd disappeared without a trace. After a week with no new Intel, his team had been put back into rotation until new information was discovered. They had just worked two straight days and had finished a particularly ugly case involving a Navy Captain who had stabbed his wife to death with a very large butcher knife. The outcome hadn't been in question; it had only been how long it took them to catch up to the prep, 48 hours later, they had their man but not without a few injuries.

Gibbs looked ruefully at the line of sutures decorating his arm. It had been an ugly wound, and he was lucky that it wasn't worse. He shook his head; he must be getting old, because his reflexes hadn't reacted the way he was used to. Hell, if he were completely honest with himself he'd admit that DiNozzo had saved his ass tonight. He was still mystified though, when had Tony become so competent fighting with blades? That was just one more change he'd noticed in his Senior Field Agent and probably one more thing to chalk up to Eve Dupree's influence.

Gibbs yawned and reached into his desk for an Intel report he'd asked NCIS Intelligence Division to procure. It was as thorough a training report for the CIA operative in question as anyone other than her own agency would have. He also picked up the DVD containing the video footage that had been shot as part of her last set of qualifications. Gibbs still didn't know how NCIS had procured that, and truthfully, he didn't' want to know. He loaded it up on the plasma and sat down to watch.

Tim walked back into the bullpen and his attention was immediately caught by the plasma screen. It was video shot in a gymnasium and featured a familiar figure taking on a man half a foot taller than she was. He squinted at the plasma screen and stared as the two figures circled each other in the ring.

"She looks familiar."

"What are you still doing here, McGee?"

"Um, ah, Boss, I'm just waiting for Abby. Is that Agent Dupree?"

Gibbs ignored the question and kept his attention on the screen. He watched as the pair began to fight and nodded when the knives came out. What did surprise him was they were real blades; apparently the CIA didn't use dummy blades in their training. He studied her form as she dropped into a crouch and went on the attack. There it was; that was exactly how Tony had behaved earlier tonight. "Ahhh." He exhaled and continued watching, "She's been coaching him. I wondered where he'd learned that."

McGee watched the fight with just a bit of awe. It took her a couple of minutes, but she eventually drew first blood, ending the fight. Yeah, his instinct in Paraguay had been correct; she was a predator who liked to play with her food before eating it. Tim was a pragmatic man; it was what made him a good agent and kept him sane when confronted by some of the things he had seen during his career. He had always thought that in relationships like attracted like, so he had never understood exactly what it was she saw in Tony. Sure he was a gifted agent and most of the time a good guy, but up until the last year or so had never taken life seriously. He had changed dramatically during his time as an Agent Afloat. Still, it begged the question, what made the two of them stay together when they were so completely different from each other?

* * *

Tony had drug himself from the office, his side aching with every step he took. He and Gibbs had taken a very long side trip to the emergency room to take care of their respective injuries, and now all that was left was to get home. Fatigue had set into his entire body by the time he finally arrived there. Tony wearily dug into his pocket for his key and opened the door to his and Eve's new apartment; it had been quite a find, thanks to her mother and her real estate connections. They had only been in the space for a couple of weeks, and boxes still littered each room. He slowly made his way into the huge space that was their living room. He found Eve on a mat, stretching. He watched for a second as she lay flat on her back, arched into a bridge then pushed herself into a handstand.

"What are you doing?"

She finished the motion, ending up back on her feet. "Hi." She took a breath then smiled. "How was your day?" She narrowed her eyes; her perceptive gaze taking in the stiffness in his posture. He was protecting his right side. "What happened?"

"Knife fight with a suspect, he nicked me. It only took a couple of stitches, but Gibbs ended up with 15 in his arm."

"Let me see."

"What my side or Gibbs' arm? 'Cause if you want to see Gibbs you're gonna have to go back to the office. Wait a sec., why would you want to see Gibbs?"

She rolled her eyes at him and took his bag. "You're slaying me with hysterical laughter here, Tony." She stepped into his personal space, looking up at him as she demanded, "Strip!"

He laughed and unknotted his tie. "You only have to ask once."

* * *

Jeff Davis sat in his luxury hotel suite in Rio de Janeiro. He did love this city; as with most large cities, money bought any pleasure. He had enjoyed his month's vacation, but it was past time he completed his objective. His attempts to contact Rivkin had been unsuccessful until just that evening. He was disappointed that the man was no longer in Ciudad Del Este, but had traveled to Washington DC. Davis wasn't keen to return to the States, but he wanted to sell his guidance system and get his money. He decided that enough time had passed that he could use one of his many aliases to return, but before he did, he had one piece of business to complete. It was time that Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. met his maker, and if he could take out Eve Dupree in the process, well that was just a bonus. He picked up one of his many cell phones and dialed a number from memory.

* * *

Michael Rivkin deplaned at Dulles and immediately jumped into a taxi. His first stop was the safe house the CIA and Mossad had set up for him, and then he intended to make contact with Eve to give her an update. He knew that she would be pleased that he had convinced the target to return to the US. While he was here he decided to make contact with Ziva. It had been too long since he had spoken to her. It would be nice to see her. Since the target was going to be in Washington then NCIS would have to be involved in the take-down. He sighed and rubbed his eyes; jet lag was catching up to him rapidly and he needed a few hours sleep before this operation came to a head.

* * *

Gibbs worked silently on the boat, sanding the wood to a satin finish. His arm was aching, but he refused to give into the pain. His mind was racing, not about the case they had just closed but about the one they were waiting for. He was still bothered by the lack of movement on the case involving Jeff Davis. That was the problem with spooks. They could disappear and reappear without warning. His gut was screaming that this guy was going to make another appearance. He didn't expect the man to use his real name, so he would have some kind of alias set up. The Agency would know any previous aliases used by Davis, so he made a mental note to have a conversation with Director Maxwell about this guy; there was definitely something hinky going on and he wanted to be completely read in to the _entire_ mission.

* * *

Tony was trying desperately to sleep, but the annoying ringing beside his head kept dragging him out of his slumber. The damn thing showed no signs of ever stopping, so he finally reached out a hand and grabbed the offending device. He snapped it open, "It's 0400; this had better be important!"

A voice with a crisp British accent replied on the other end of the line. _"DiNozzo? Why are you answering Eve's phone?"_

Tony was dumfounded, "Wha…" He pried his heavy lids open and looked at the phone. _Shit_! He had answered her phone by accident. "Who the hell is this? Kort?"

"_Put Eve on the phone."_

Tony ran a hand over his face and hissed, "Why don't you call back at a decent hour?"

Eve walked into the bedroom saying, "Coffee's on. What are you doing…" She did a double take when she noticed the phone in his hand. "…answering my phone?" She walked over to the bed and held out her hand. He placed the phone in her palm and rolled back over in bed, burying his head under her pillow.

"Dupree."

"_Good morning, love."_

"Jesus Christ, Kort. It's 4 a.m. This had better be good."

"_Davis cleared customs in Miami using one of his aliases the Agency assigned him. He's due back in DC tomorrow."_

She sat down on the edge of the bed, absentmindedly playing with her necklace. "Has Rivkin made contact with anyone yet?"

"_Yes, he contacted us at 0200 when he made it to the safe house here in DC. He'll contact you later this morning. The Director wants you to contact him ASAP for a briefing then brief NCIS."_

"Fine. Goodbye, Trent." She abruptly hung up the phone without waiting for his reply, then turned and gave Tony a shake. "Get up; we have a lead. We need to get to your office ASAP. Oh, you might want to call your team; why should we be the only ones up this early?"

He turned bleary eyes back to her and asked, "Did you say something about coffee?"

* * *

Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. had been awake for hours, a cup of cold decaf sitting in front of him. He was sick and tired of sitting around in hiding while his son undertook the dangerous job of searching for Jeff Davis. It had taken some serious negotiation and a huge bonus, but he had finally gotten his new security detail to assist him in traveling to Washington, DC. He liked the man that Ms. Dupree had found. Jean-Paul was very good at his job, and the three other men he'd brought in were equally as talented. He had already hired them as his permanent security detail.

He had charted a jet to take them all to DC; if there was a chance that something could happen to his son then he had a few more things to tell him. He assumed that his son had been in his office while at the company. If his assumption was correct then he knew that Tony would have seen the picture the private investigator had taken at the restaurant. He needed to explain that he'd wanted to know how his son was doing, if he was happy before he made a move to reenter his life. He had so many regrets where his family was concerned, and he wanted to make sure that when he finally did die that those regrets were all gone. Yes, they definitely still needed to clear the air.

* * *

The only way to get Tony moving at an acceptable speed had been a promise to stop at a diner to grab breakfast on their way to NCIS. They had been deep into negotiations about where to stop as they exited the apartment, and neither one noticed the thin, nondescript man fall in behind them as they walked to the parking garage to retrieve Tony's Mustang. They entered the garage, and the dark, silence of the structure enveloped them.

Their shadow kept several paces back, darting behind pillars as he felt necessary. His assignment was simple, follow and report to his superior. He could still hear them settling on a place to stop. He waited until they were in the car and gone before pulling out his phone. "There're stopping at McAllister's on M Street. Be ready. They're on the way now."

* * *

Gibbs walked into the bullpen and sat down to wait for his team. According to Tony's call earlier that morning they had a definite lead on Davis' whereabouts. He felt his gut clinch with unease. For some reason he felt like the man's decision to come back to DC wasn't only related to selling the missile guidance system. After the attempt on their lives in New York, Gibbs was reasonably certain that Davis wasn't going to quit until he had killed Tony, his Father, and Eve Dupree. According to Tony, his father was safely ensconced in a safe house in upstate New York, so that only left his Senior Field Agent and Agent Dupree. His gut wasn't going to leave him alone until he could see his surrogate son, so he gripped his coffee cup tighter and took another gulp from it. This whole operation was nothing but spies, spies, spies. How the hell had the Agency allowed a psycho like Davis to retire and still be able to get a job that would give him access to this software. He supposed that he shouldn't be surprised, but _Christ_ he hated dealing with the CIA!

* * *

Tony pulled up to McAllister's Diner and the two exited the car. They walked across the street and entered the building intent on picking up enough breakfast and coffee for the entire team. Chrissie, the morning waitress, was always glad to see the pair of them and always gave them complimentary coffee. She and her husband who was the owner of the diner had known Tony since he started at NCIS, and they were quite fond of him. They had been happy to see that he was finally settling down with a nice girl. She handed them the bags of food and the tray of coffee and waved them out the door.

* * *

Ahh, there they were; he could see them walking out of the diner. He chambered a round on his weapon and put the scope to his eye. He settled down to wait for the perfect shot. As they walked across the street he took a deep breath, placed his finger on the trigger, exhaled, then gently squeezed.


	7. Breaking the Surface

I wish I owned NCIS. If I did I'd definitely do things a bit differently. Thanks for all of your positive reviews and feedback. Here is the next chapter in our journey.

Breaking the Surface

_He chambered a round on his weapon and put the scope to his eye. He settled down to wait for the perfect shot. As they walked across the street he took a deep breath, placed his finger on the trigger, exhaled then gently squeezed_.

A split second was all it took to change events. He had heard that numerous times during his career, and had even seen it happen to suspects and witnesses, but had never thought he'd be on the receiving end of it himself. When Tony thought back on the chain of events later, he always remembered that time seemed to fall into slow motion. Tony heard Chrissie yelling his name and he turned around to see what she needed. He felt the heat of the bullet and heard the crash of his car's window as it struck, shattering the glass in a million pieces. He heard Eve's voice yelling, _"SNIPER! TAKE COVER!"_

Instinct forced him to take cover behind his car. Instinct had Eve jerking the keys from his hand and slipping around to the trunk. She opened it and pulled out a M40 rifle he'd never seen before. He did a double take as she pulled the scope off and proceeded to use it to search the roofs of the surrounding buildings. She caught sight of the man running across a rooftop beside the diner. She turned to Tony. 'He's gone. Did you get hit?"

'No, thanks to Chrissie, if she hadn't shouted my name…I'd probably be dead now."

She gave him a quick once over, her eyes not missing the scratches that covered his hands from diving to the pavement. "Call your team. They need to collect any evidence that bastard may have left on the rooftop. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Tony nodded and reached for his phone. While he was making the call he watched her put the scope back on the rifle and slip it back into his trunk. "Eve, we've got to have a talk about you keeping random guns in my car."

She flashed a chagrined smile at him and nodded. "I put it there after Davis went missing. I had a feeling it might come in handy; I still think one of us will get to use it."

He turned back to his call. "Boss, can you get the truck and come down to McAllister's Diner. Yeah, someone took a shot at us this morning and we need to secure the scene. Okay, I'll get started taking statements until you get here."

* * *

Gibbs leapt up from his chair yelling, "Grab your gear!" He threw the keys towards McGee shouting for him to gas the truck.

McGee watched the keys go sailing by his head then turned to Gibbs and asked, "Boss?" His one word question asking what was going on.

Gibbs turned on him, "Someone took a shot at DiNozzo and Dupree. Go gas the truck and get to McAllister's on M Street. Ziva, you're with me!" He hurried for the elevator.

Tim scrambled on the floor for the keys and raced for the garage while Ziva grabbed her gear and raced to catch up with Gibbs.

* * *

Eve stood off to the side watching as Tony took statements and began to work the crime scene. Gibbs, Ziva and McGee finally showed up and began helping him process the scene. She watched without comment, hoping they would hurry and take her statement. After reliving the morning in her mind more times than she wanted to acknowledge, she realized that she was equal parts scared for him and furious at their target. This was the second time that Davis had sent someone after the two of them. She felt the bile rise in her throat as she relived the moment yet again. Tony had been so lucky. If he hadn't turned around he would most likely be dead. Eve decided that she was tired of waiting for Davis to come to them. It was time to take the fight to him for a change. With that thought in mind she reached for her phone and made a call. Five minutes later she was looking for Tony to let him know that she was taking off.

Tony was not amused. "Where are you going? We need to get your official statement."

"I have a contact coming to pick me up. I'm sick and goddamned tired of waiting for this jerk to take potshots at us! I'll meet you back at NCIS after I get my briefing."

"Eve, I wish you wouldn't do this…" His comment trailed off as a motorcycle pulled up to the curb beside them. She turned and gave Tony a quick kiss and said, "I'll see you later." She ran over to the bike and jumped on back. Tony caught a glimpse of the rider and was not happy to see that she was leaving with Michael Rivkin.

* * *

Abby was pacing back and forth across her lab squeezing Bert for comfort. She couldn't believe that a sniper had taken a shot at Tony that morning. She had been frantic for news until Tony finally called her himself to reassure her that he was fine. He was currently on his way back to the office and was bringing all of the collected evidence with him. She finally tired to pacing a trail back and forth within her lab and sat down on her chair to wait for Tony and the evidence he was bringing.

She didn't have long to wait. As soon as he entered her lab she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing for all she was worth. "TONY! Are you okay? I mean, are you hurt. I can't believe that someone SHOT at you for no reason. Who'd want to kill you?"

"Abbs…" He wheezed, "I need air."

"Sorry." She let him go and looked behind him in confusion. "Where's Eve. I thought she'd be with you."

"Yeah I did too. She's with her people right now. She'll be here later." He turned to leave the room, but she heard him mumble, "I hope."

Abby shook her head sadly and gave Bert another squeeze. "Okay, gang; let's see what he brought for us this morning."

* * *

Three hours later he was working his way through the witness statements when he got a call from the security guard. "Agent DiNozzo, you have a visitor. Should I send her up?"

"Her?"

"Yeah, some blonde; trust me, you _definitely_ want to see this one."

Tony was confused, since he and Eve had started seeing each other he'd sworn off other women. Although, this could be someone she had sent to update him. He decided that was the most likely scenario and finally replied, "Okay, send her on up to the bullpen."

Ziva, McGee, and Gibbs chose that moment to enter the bullpen and heard his last comment. Ziva gave a gleeful smile and decided to needle her partner. "Her? You now have strange women coming here? What will Agent Dupree say?'

Before Tony could reply a voice behind them said, "She'll say that he's thinking like a spy."

Tony turned around and did a double take. It was Eve standing there, but it wasn't. Gone was her glossy, blacker than black hair, and in its place was pale blonde curtain around her face. Her creamy skin had been darkened several shades so that she looked like someone who spent her life lying by the pool, and her emerald green eyes were now the color of sapphires. He finally quit staring and stirred himself to ask, "What did you do to yourself?"

"I'm now officially undercover. I have the details of the meet to sell the software. Let's all sit down in the conference room, and I'll give it to you then we can talk strategy."

Gibbs led his team and Eve into the conference room, the real one not the elevator, so they could discuss what was going to happen.

Gibbs sat down at the head of the table and gave a beady stare before saying, "Okay, Agent Dupree, you have us here; what've you got?"

"I met with my people and my Mossad contact with whom I've been working this operation for the last six months. Davis is back in DC as of right now. He made contact with our 'broker' to whom he's going to sell the missile guidance system. They are meeting tonight at _Lace_. It's a high-class lingerie club that caters to the powerbrokers and moneymen here in Washington."

Tim frowned and asked, "Lingerie club?"

Tony rolled his eyes and interrupted him before he could say anything else. "Probie! It's a strip club, just one that caters to the elite." Tony became silent for a second, suddenly not liking where this was going.

Gibbs had been silent but finally asked, "What do you need from us?"

I need surveillance and tactical back-up. I need McGee handling the computers, Ziva in there as a waitress and the rest of you as patrons."

Ziva nodded, feeling excited at the thought of doing some undercover work. "How will you get me a job there on such short notice?"

Eve smirked. "That's the easy part. The couple who own _Lace_, well they're retired Agency assets. They had no problem doing a favor for an old friend. They're going to give us access to their cameras over the entire building so we can monitor everything."

Tony finally asked the question that had been bothering him, "What are you going in as, another waitress?"

She shook her head and flashed a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "No, I'm going in as a dancer. I need to get close to Davis, and that will be the best way to do it."

Gibbs frowned, "Can you pull that off?"

"It won't be the first time I've done it. Let's just leave it at that. The meet is scheduled for 2300 hours tonight. We have a lot to accomplish before then."

Everyone except for Tony stood to leave. He reached out and grabbed her hand, asking her to stay. She sat down on the table next to his seat.

"What's up?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm getting close enough to the target to make sure that he doesn't escape again. He'll be in handcuffs before the end of the night."

"What about this…" He raised a hand to indicate the cosmetic changes she had made. "Is it permanent?"

"Nope, it's not permanent; it's just a disguise so I can get close without being made. You have to admit, I look different."

"Okay, what about the dancing part of your cover?"

"I've played this role several other times, so I can handle it with no problems." She stopped and really looked at him then asked, "Wait a second, are you jealous?"

Tony scoffed, "Who me… jealous?" He met her eyes then finally gave in. "Yeah, okay, I am, just a little."

She smiled and slid from the table to his lap. "I'm flattered, but there's no need for it. You have nothing to be jealous of, as if anyone in that room is going to compete with you."

He relaxed for a second, and then she continued, "However, since it could be a problem, you need to handle the surveillance. McGee can work inside, and maybe Abby can handle the computers with you."

"_WHAT?!"_

"You heard me. You are not inside the club. Tony, he's seen your face; he sent a sniper to kill you this morning. There is no way in hell you're getting anywhere near that club. If he recognizes you then we're screwed."

He couldn't argue with her logic. "I don't like it, who's going to be watching your six?"

"Your entire team as well as a few of my own people and Mossad. I think I'm covered."

"I still don't like it. How are you going to get close to him if you're on a stage?"

"Oh ye of little faith. I won't be on a stage, silly. I'll be working the crowd. You know how these places are."

Tony nodded his head in dismay. "Yeah, I know exactly how they are."

* * *

It had taken an entire afternoon to get all of the players set up and ready for the sting. Gibbs, McGee, Kort, and a couple of additional NCIS agents who Tony knew that he should recognize were already in the club, and all were outfitted with earwigs and mics.

Tony handed Ziva and Eve their respective equipment then had to stand there whilst they walked into the back entrance of the club and left him behind in the van. He hated the fact that he wasn't part of the sting, but had bowed to her logic and Gibbs' orders. Hell, he thought to himself, Gibbs hadn't even wanted to hear any of the reasons why he felt that he should be included. The idea that Davis might recognize Tony had been all he needed to hear before he exiled him to the van with Abby, who had been delighted by his company. Tony was pissed, but settled down to do his job to the best of his ability.

* * *

Ziva looked with dismay at the negligee Eve held out to her. If she wore that she would be practically naked. While she had no issues with her body and how it looked, she didn't really want her co-workers to see her thus. It was different going undercover when she didn't know the players involved. Although, it appeared she was getting off easy. The outfit that Agent Dupree was wearing left little if nothing to the imagination. Ziva gave a brief secret smile at the reaction that Tony was going to give when he saw his live-in lover walk out of the dressing room dressed in that white lace ensemble.

Eve nodded in satisfaction as she looked at Ziva modeling her costume for the evening. She smiled as she thought of the tips that would come the Israeli woman's way. Hell, if they were lucky and the crowd was generous, they both could make a small fortune. She glanced down at her own outfit and gave a rueful smile. Tony was going to completely lose it when he saw what she _wasn't_ wearing. Oh well, he'd get over it; it could be worse after all. At least this time she wasn't on stage taking her clothes off like she had the last time she'd used this same ruse. She and Ziva exchanged a meaningful stare and together walked towards the doors leading to the main floor.

* * *

Tony and Abby scanned the room, using the facial recognition software to search for Davis. He caught sight of Ziva walking from the dressing room area and gave a wolf whistle in appreciation for her attire, or lack thereof. Abby snorted in amusement at his reaction. His amusement ended when he caught sight of Eve and her, well, he couldn't really call it an outfit. He'd gripped his coffee cup so tightly that it had almost crumpled in his hand.

Abby put a calming hand on his arm and said, "She's just working undercover. It doesn't mean anything. Get a grip so we don't miss something."

He nodded and used deep breathing exercises to keep himself calm as they waited for a hit. He had already found all of the players from their team in various spots in the building. After a couple of minutes he found Rivkin and his companion. Abby set the software to work on the man with Rivkin and a couple of minutes later had a positive hit for Jeff Davis.

He spoke softly into his mic, "We have a positive ID. The target is with Rivkin."

Standing together by the bar, Ziva and Eve gave each other a smile that most would interpret as predatory. They nodded once they heard Tony's announcement then looked at each other and said, "It's showtime."


	8. A Hundred Minus One

I still don't own NCIS; I really, really wish I did then I could stop with all of these disclaimers. Thanks for all of your positive reviews and feedback. Angst alert here... Just wanted to warn all of you. Here is the next chapter in our journey.

* * *

_If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.__ -- __A. A. Milne_

A Hundred Minus One

Everything had been perfectly planned; at least that's what he had thought. Gibbs had settled down at a table with McGee sitting next to him, looking decidedly uncomfortable, and both men were scanning the room for their target as well as their undercover agents. This was definitely not his scene; the music was loud with a heavy beat, and the women, while very beautiful, were too blatant for his taste. He could and did admire their beauty, especially the two agents who were undercover. Gibbs watched Ziva with a father's concerned gaze. She was carefully working her way through the room, taking orders and delivering them in her carefully efficient way. He nodded to himself; she was a beautiful woman, and he was worried that some strange man was going to 'steal' her away from her NCIS family.

He turned his gaze to Eve Dupree and just shook his head at her ensemble. That one was trouble, and he wished that DiNozzo had never gotten involved with her in the first place. He blamed Jenny for putting them together on that first assignment. Tony and his emotional neediness were like catnip to a cat for a woman like Eve. He couldn't complain, though, Tony was happy and finally settled; he didn't know exactly what it was they had together, but it worked.

* * *

Ziva worked her way over to their table, tray in hand. She was tired of strange men putting their hands on her, and her injured leg was bothering her. Despite these facts she was determined to finish this without incident. She sidled up to their table, under the pretense of taking their orders and leaned in towards Gibbs suggestively. "The target is with Officer Rivkin. Agent Dupree is on her way to the table now."

Tim looked up at her comment and found himself face to face with Ziva's rather impressive assets. His face turned scarlet and he was unable to meet her eyes. She rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge. "McGee!"

He stammered and stuttered, "Uh..uh…yeah…Ziva?"

"Remember that I can think of fifty different ways to kill you without a weapon. Keep your mind on your assignment."

He gulped and whispered, "Right."

He could hear Tony's amused laughter in his ear and then, "Probie, stop acting like a teenager on his first date and concentrate. This is going to go down soon. I knew that I should have been in there. This is my natural environment."

Gibbs smirked upon listening to this conversation, and almost laughed out loud when he heard Eve interject, "It better not be, not anymore." She rapidly shifted back to the topic at hand. "I'll be on the target in about a minute. Be ready, when this goes down, I want him alive. I want his list of contacts."

Gibbs whispered into his mic, "DiNozzo, get inside the building without being seen and be ready just in case we need additional back-up."

"On it, Boss." Tony stood and gave Abby a kiss on the head. "Keep recording this and lock the door behind me. I don't want anyone slipping in on you."

She turned huge, concerned eyes up to him and said, "Be careful. If anything happens to you guys, I won't be able to stand it."

He gently squeezed her shoulder in a reassuring way and exited the van. She locked the door and turned again to the monitors. "Crazy-town, here I come."

* * *

Tony made his way to the back entrance and quietly entered the club. Slowly and methodically he made his way to the entrance to the main floor, and was happy to see that he had a bird's eye view of the VIP area where Rivkin and Davis were sitting together. He saw Ziva making her way towards Trent Kort's table to ostensibly deliver a drink but to actually update him on the progress being made.

He finally caught sight of Eve; she had made her way over to Rivkin's table and was sitting in his lap. He didn't like the expression on the Mossad Officer's face as she settled herself down; the man looked entirely too pleased, much like the proverbial cat who got the cream. Tony swallowed hard and consoled himself with the thought that this was just a job to her. He settled into his hiding spot to watch the action and listen to their conversation.

* * *

Michael Rivkin loved beautiful women, and he was handsome and charming enough to have his pick of them. It was why he was currently involved with Ziva, and why he had indulged in the brief affair with Eve two years ago. He slid his hand down her arm in a proprietary manner, knowing that DiNozzo was watching somewhere, and smiled at his companion. "Mr. Davis, thank you for meeting me here."

"Please call me Jeff."

"Only if you will call me Michael."

"Alright, Michael, I must say I was surprised that you would want to do business here, but upon seeing your beautiful companion, I understand."

"This is Sirena. She calls me here much like the Greek myths she was named for."

Davis gave the woman a thorough inspection. She was very beautiful, and vaguely familiar. "Be careful of the rocks that always accompany such a siren song. Shall we get down to business?"

"By all means. You have the software for the missile guidance system?"

"I do, do you have the money, thirty million U.S.?"

If you give me an account number, I will have the funds wired into your account momentarily, and then we can finish our business and begin celebrating. Sirena has a very beautiful friend who I'm sure would love to make your acquaintance."

Eve glanced over at Ziva and nodded for her to begin making her way over. She knew that Ziva would have gotten a weapon from Kort just in case it was needed. She shifted her weight slightly and felt Michael's hand at the small of her back. He carefully slipped a stiletto blade in her hand and turned his attention back to the transaction at hand. She moved herself slightly and prepared for the sting that was going to take place momentarily.

Davis pulled a small box from his jacket pocket. He opened it, displaying a computer flash drive. "This is all you will need."

Rivkin opened a laptop and inserted the drive, smiling with satisfaction when the program sprang to life. "We have a deal. Give me the account number." He took the account number and then proceeded to authorize the transfer of funds.

Davis felt the excitement begin to grow in his stomach. He smiled gleefully as soon as his PDA confirmed the transfer of funds. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Michael." He stood and began to leave the table when he was interrupted by Sirena who had left her companion's lap and was now blocking his path.

"Mr. Davis, don't you want a dance? If you come with me to the back I'll show you the time of your life."

He felt the power of having so much money; it would buy you anything. He put a hand on her arm possessively, completely enthralled by the temptation standing in his path. His attention was such that he missed the swarm of NCIS agents who had carefully blocked his every exit.

Gibbs and everyone else who was not undercover had pulled out their badges so they were visible, then they converged on the Davis. Gibbs shouted, "NCIS! You're under arrest."

Davis reacted quickly by pulling the Eve in front of him as a shield, holding a gun to her head. "Let me leave or the whore dies."

Gibbs froze for a second, torn between not wanting to lose anyone on this op. and the possibility of this bastard escaping. "Davis, you have nowhere to go. Let her go or we shoot."

"Davis gave a cold smile, "Go ahead, shoot, I'm sure you'll hit her at least once."

Eve rolled her eyes and decided to end this before someone actually got shot. She pressed the release, and a six inch blade sprang forth. She locked eyes with Tony who had made his way behind Gibbs. He gave her a slight nod so she stabbed her blade deep into Davis' thigh. He yelped and let her go but not before firing a shot which hit her in the neck. She immediately dropped, knowing what was coming.

Tony stood there, watching the action. He knew that Eve could handle herself, and was just waiting for her to give them an opportunity to strike. When she stabbed Davis he was ready; what he wasn't prepared for was the single shot that Davis got off. He flinched when it struck her in the neck. She went down and Tony fired three shots, one for each shoulder and the third in the same thigh that Davis had been stabbed in. The man dropped like a stone and was swarmed by agents who simultaneously cuffed him and called 911.

Tony dropped to his knees by Eve. He pressed his hand against her wound to try and staunch the bleeding. "Hold on, the ambulance is on the way."

"I knew you couldn't stay in the van."

"Don't talk…" He was interrupted by EMTs who pushed him out of the way. They bundled her on a gurney and headed out the door. Tony glanced at Gibbs who nodded and said, "Go with her DiNozzo. I'll see you back at the office as soon as she's stable."

Tony turned and raced towards the door.

Gibbs smirked at his prisoner; the man was shell-shocked by the arrest, so the former Marine settled down and began to read him his rights as the EMTs stabilized him for transport to Bethesda.

* * *

By the time Tony got back to the office to complete his paperwork, the majority of the hard work had been done. Davis had been seen at the ER; his wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. Luckily for him, all three of them had been through and throughs, and he was currently sitting unhappily in a holding cell, waiting for the FBI to pick him up.

The software had been recovered, completely intact. Tony thanked whatever God that was up in heaven that the program had been made with a component that didn't allow it to be copied by just any computer. Michael Rivkin had handed over the flash drive with all the data, and had disappeared to parts unknown. Ziva had a smug smile on her face as she passed Tony on her way out of the building. He wondered about her relationship with the Mossad Officer, but didn't have the energy to ask about it. He was too concerned for the woman he had left sleeping.

Tony had left Eve back at their apartment, her neck heavily bandaged. She had been very lucky that the bullet had only grazed her. She was sleeping off the pain medications that the doctors had forced on her. He hadn't wanted to leave, but she had insisted, before sleep claimed her, that he needed to finish his job. Guilt had clawed at his stomach, but he'd done as she requested.

He worked his way methodically through the paperwork, making sure that everything was perfect so as not to give a defense attorney any loophole to slither through. It was well after 5 am by the time he finished and put the folder on Gibbs' desk for signature.

"Go home DiNozzo, get some sleep. I don't want to see you here until tomorrow."

"Thanks Boss. I could use the rest."

"How is she?"

"The bullet grazed her neck. She was lucky."

Gibbs took a long drink from his coffee cup then said, "You both were lucky yesterday. Go spend some time together."

Tony flashed an exhausted smile and headed home. Gibbs watched him go with a speculative look in his sapphire eyes then turned back to his own paperwork so he could leave as well.

* * *

Tony arrived home to find her curled up on the couch watching an old movie on _TCM_. He settled down next to her and smiled when she immediately scooted closer. "Why are you up; the doctor said you needed to rest."

"I slept off the pain meds. I'm just watching a movie and waiting for you to come home."

"Just don't overdo it, please."

"I got an interesting phone call after you left."

"Yeah, what?"

"John called. He was so pleased by the way this was handled and the fact we got Davis alive that he wanted to offer me a promotion."

Tony turned his head from the screen and looked at her. "What kind of promotion?"

She laced her fingers with his and smiled. "He wants me to become a training officer."

"Does this mean you'd be out of the field?"

She almost grimaced at the eagerness in his voice but replied, "Most of the time. He wants me to teach the new operatives how to work undercover without getting themselves or their teammates killed."

She went silent as he absorbed her news. She knew if she waited he'd have to ask. He managed to sit in the silence for almost fifteen minutes before he proved her right by saying, "Well, did you take it?"

"What do you think?"

"I think I love you, but that doesn't answer my question."

"I love you, too, and yes, I took the promotion."

He gently pulled her close in a celebratory hug. "Thank you." His voice was husky and filled with emotion.

"For what?" She frowned, genuinely curious.

"For loving me."

"Tony, that's the easiest thing I've ever done, and definitely the most rewarding."

* * *

In the next couple of months, Tony's life settled into something he'd only allowed himself to dream about. His career was going better than ever, he was in love, and he'd even begun to forge some kind of relationship with his father. They had talked about the past, really talked about it. It hadn't been easy, but he was finally learning how to forgive, not forget, but to forgive his father for the past. He couldn't believe how great things were going; he should have known that it wouldn't last.

He was currently on his way home to collect her for a team dinner at Gibbs' house. He entered the apartment which had rapidly become home, to find her packing a bag and grabbing a couple of her passports from the safe in their bedroom.

He entered the room and immediately put himself into her personal space as he asked, "What are you doing?"

She didn't even flinch at his tone when she responded, "I've got to go away for a while. It's a simple enough assignment. I have an asset that needs extraction. I'm going to pick them up and then I'll be home. Two weeks at the most."

He was dismayed, and his frustration came out in his reply, "That isn't your job anymore."

"It will _always_ be my job; this is my asset. I put them there, and they've risked their life because I asked them to. I owe it to them to go myself."

"I won't make it if something happens to you."

"Nothing is going to happen to me, Tony. I will come home to you. Nothing will stop me, not even the Devil himself. I promise."

He pulled her into a fierce embrace. "I love you."

She could hear his heartbeat, so she looked up at him and whispered, "Ditto."

* * *

Tony sat at his desk with his head in his hands. It was past midnight and way past time for him to go home. Still, he sat there trying to concentrate on the cold case file in front of him. He had no one to go home to, not yet. She had been gone for three months, and he hadn't heard from her in one. It was supposed to have been a simple mission, in and out in a couple of weeks. The entire thing had dragged on and on, but he'd been able to speak to her intermittently. That had stopped eight weeks into the assignment, and he hadn't heard from her since. He still hadn't had an answer that would satisfy as to why no one had been sent in to look for her. The only thing anyone would say was that the mission had gone bad and that someone had compromised her cover.

Gibbs walked into the bullpen. He knew that he'd find Tony still here working. He'd been here every night since she went missing. Gibbs had tried to be there for his Senior Field Agent as he dealt with the bureaucracy that kept everyone, including her father, from getting any information. Summer had turned into fall, and fall was rapidly turning into winter with no word of her whereabouts. Gibbs was afraid of the worst, but was hesitant to voice his fears. Truthfully he didn't think Tony could handle it. He was waiting for the phone call that would signal that her body had been found. Until that phone call happened, Tony was stuck in slow motion, not willing to move forward but unable to go backwards.

"DiNozzo, what are you still doing here?"

Tony turned to Gibbs and spoke so softly the other man had to strain to hear, "Nothing to go home to yet."

"Go home and get some rest. You're not going to do anyone especially her any good if you're so exhausted that you can't react. Someone will call you if they find out anything."

Tony rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. He was exhausted, but he didn't know what else to do. The idea that kept racing through his mind was to go to Langley and beat her last location out of someone. Gibbs had kept him sane, well as sane as possible. He had stayed with him when he sat in the dark in the new apartment and drank himself into a stupor more than one night. He hadn't passed any judgment, but had been there with coffee and aspirin the morning after

"Alright…alright… I'm going home. Maybe tonight's the night I'll hear from her."

Gibbs swallowed convulsively. The hope in Tony's voice was almost painful to hear, but he finally said, "Yeah, maybe you will. G' night."

He watched his Senior Field Agent walk to the elevator and felt his stomach clinch when he saw Tony's bravado cease and his head drop in defeat as he left the bullpen. He knew where he was going to end up later tonight. The grief and the unanswered questions were eating away at him; DiNozzo was well on his way to being a broken man.

Tony dragged his heels all the way home. The apartment that they had made their home was just a place to sleep without her there. He unlocked the door and went inside. The entire place was dark, but he could still smell her perfume in the air and see her in every room. He flipped through the mail and stopped when he found a large manila envelope from a law firm. He opened it and saw papers from her lawyer giving him power of attorney over all of her property. He felt sick when he saw it; it was like giving up on finding her, so when he entered the living room he threw his bag and all of the mail onto the kitchen counter and reached into the freezer for the bottle of Patrón tequila. He sat down on the couch in the dark living room and opened the bottle. Toasting the picture of the two of them that was sitting on the coffee table in front of him, he took his first drink of the evening. It was the first of many more to come, and as he had every night since she disappeared, he passed out on the couch.

Around 0300 Gibbs unlocked the door and entered the dark apartment. He wasn't surprised to find Tony passed out on the couch. He pulled him up and half carried him back to the bedroom and threw him onto the bed.

Tony roused himself enough to slur, "She promised me she would always come home to me. She promised me, Boss. What am I supposed to do now?"

Gibbs sighed. Having lived through his own version of it, he really did understand the hell that Tony was going through. He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand on Tony's head. "Ah, Tony, there's no magic bullet. You just breathe in and out, every day; you concentrate on making it through one day at a time until you can do it without concentrating."

His eyes were bright, almost feverish when he asked, "How long did it take you to get there?" Tony didn't need to mention the names of his late wife and daughter, Gibbs knew who he meant.

Gibbs gave a sad smile in reflection then replied, "Any day now."


	9. The Rain

I don't own NCIS, much to my dismay. I can't believe that we've come to what feels like the end of this story. Thanks again for reading, reviewing and putting the story on alert. Well, I'm sad to say, here is the last chapter in our journey…

The Rain

_A promise__ is a cloud; fulfillment is rain." —__Arabian Proverb on __Promises_

After two more weeks of the same routine, Gibbs finally put his foot down and insisted that Ducky put Tony on medical leave until he was able to cope. There had been no news from her agency or any other, and Tony was falling apart at the seams. Gibbs did everything he could to make Tony stay in the spare room at his house, but his surrogate son was insistent that he had to be in their apartment just in case she came home. Abby, Ducky and Gibbs alternated keeping him company each night. He didn't talk, just sat there staring blankly at the TV screen or drinking until he passed out.

After one difficult night Ducky finally became fed up and confronted Gibbs. "Jethro, we have _got_ to do something more. If we don't get a handle on this soon, well, Anthony's going to drink himself to death."

"I know, Duck. I know. I'm just at a loss as to what we can do right now." Gibbs worked hard at swallowing his frustration and anger; this wasn't Ducky's fault.

Ducky lost his temper at the circumstances and exclaimed, "_Good God Man_! There must be something that can be done. Has anyone actually called and spoke to her director? They must know something. They always know where their operatives are. If we don't do something sooner rather than later Tony is going to either end up dead or a full blown alcoholic. I'm sure that you find neither option palatable, _so make the damn phone call_!"

Gibbs knew that Ducky was right. He'd exhausted all of his contacts trying to get information, and he knew that Ziva had several that had threatened to never speak to her again if she didn't quit harassing them. McGee and Abby had hacked every computer system from the CIA to the Office of Homeland Security, and had found nothing.

It was comforting in a weird way, Gibbs was sure that if she were dead then _someone_ would have notified Tony by now. The silence was deafening in this case, and that had led Gibbs to believe that she was alive somewhere. Now they just needed to get someone to break the wall of silence and give them some solid Intel. He knew that Hamilton Dupree had a team ready to go at a moment's notice if her location was found.

After a great deal of contemplation, he decided that a phone call just wouldn't do in this case, so with that thought in mind headed out the door on a single minded mission to speak to Director John Maxwell, and get her location, one way or another.

* * *

Sleep had been difficult since she left. More often than not he ended up drinking until he passed out or his babysitter of the evening took the bottle from him. The previous night had been a Gibbs night, so he'd been free to drink as much as he wanted. Hell, Gibbs had even joined him in several glasses. The older man had listened without comment as Tony talked about Eve and how much he missed her. He had gotten rip roaring drunk, but for once hadn't passed out on the couch.

He dreamed of her that night like he did almost every night. His dreams varied from terrifying where he found her body and comforting where he felt her body curled around his. Tonight he could feel her body snuggled next to his, his arms wrapped around her, holding her tight against him. He could smell the jasmine perfume that she constantly wore, feel her silken hair against his chest, and hear her voice as she whispered to him, her breath trailing across his skin.

"_Tony, did you even look at the papers? I promise I'm coming home to you; please don't give up on me. I love you."_

Tony awoke suddenly, covered in a cold sweat. He looked desperately around the room for her. When he realized that he was alone in the apartment he dropped his head back on the pillow in defeat. His dream had been so real that he swore that could still feel her next to him and hear her voice. There was something about that particular dream gnawing at his mind. What had she said? Look at the papers. He shook his head; what papers? He tried to focus, but his head was pounding with a world class hang-over. He finally remembered, he had come home a couple of weeks ago and found an envelope from her lawyer in the mail.

Could she have left him a clue to her assignment in that? He slowly rose from the bed, his temples throbbing with every step he took and headed to the kitchen in search of that envelope. A quick glance at the clock told him that Gibbs had already left for the office. He gratefully poured a large mug of coffee and began to drink it black. Where had he put that damned envelope? He hadn't wanted to deal with it, and had put it… where? He slowly walked through their apartment his head clearing with each room he went through. He had put it in the office, in the desk so he wouldn't have to look at it. He walked into the small room and pulled open the desk drawer, the large manila envelope sitting on top, exactly where he had left it. He carried it back into the kitchen and sat at the table and spread the papers out. He found the power of attorney paper first and set it aside. Glancing through it, he found other papers giving him authority to act on her behalf. He finally found a smaller envelope in the very back of the package. He tore it open and read.

_Tony,_

_If you're reading this then I obviously didn't get home on schedule. I asked my attorney to make sure you got this package in the event I had problems during this assignment. I hope that my lawyer put this letter on top for you to find first. If they didn't then I suspect you spent several days drinking heavily to avoid dealing with the contents of this package._

_I wanted to give you some information about where I was going. I know I couldn't tell you anything when I left, but now, well, who really cares? I went to extract an asset from __Kandahar__ in Afghanistan. Her name is Asman Hassan, a widow with two children. Her husband was killed several months ago during a raid by insurgents and Taliban fighters in her village, and she was worried for her children's safety. She contacted me and asked for my help. I couldn't refuse; I owe her more than I can ever repay, so please understand why I had to do this._

_No matter what happens or what's said, don't ever doubt how much you mean to me. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I promise you that I will fight to my last breath to come home to you._

_I love you, _

_Eve_

Tony read the letter several times then wiped the moisture from his eyes. He carefully folded the letter and placed it in his backpack. Once that was done he reached for the phone to call her parents.

* * *

Gibbs was frustrated. His recent visit to Langley had nothing more than give him as headache and an active hatred of the Agency. He couldn't believe that they were so unwilling to help find her. They had Intel, but whatever they knew they weren't sharing. He had instructed his team to start looking for any lead that might point them in the right direction. He knew that if they didn't find some answers for Tony soon they were going to lose him altogether.

They had been searching for three days, Ziva working all of her contacts, including her father, and McGee and Abby again hacking any and every database they could when they finally found something that could be considered a lead.

Ziva hung up the telephone and sighed. "Gibbs, I think I found something that might tell us where Agent Dupree was."

He looked at the group. "Well, are you going to tell me or make me guess?"

She gave a grim smile. "I spoke to my father. According to Mossad, Agent Dupree was sent to Afghanistan to retrieve a local asset who had been compromised."

Gibbs sat there silent for a few minutes digesting that bit of information when a voice at the edge of the bullpen interjected,

"The asset's name is Asman Hassan." Everyone gave a start and turned around when they heard Tony's voice. Gibbs took a good look at his Senior Field Agent. His eyes were bloodshot, he had a two day growth of beard, but he was sober.

Abby immediately walked over and pulled him into a tight hug. "Tony, it's really, really good to see you."

He returned her hug and put his cheek on the top of her head, "You too, Abbs."

Gibbs was relieved to hear Tony finally making sense. "How do you know the name of her contact?"

Tony walked over to his desk and put his bag on top of it. He pulled the letter out and held it tightly. "Eve told me."

"You heard from her?" Ziva exclaimed.

Tony took a deep breath and held out the letter to Gibbs. "No, she sent this. Her lawyers delivered a package of documents to me, and this was included."

Gibbs took the letter and scanned it. "Does the Agency know you have this information?"

Tony shook his head. "I doubt it. The only person I called was Ham; he and her mother had a right to know."

Abby took Tony's hand in hers and squeezed. "She's not dead."

Tim looked shocked at her pronouncement and exclaimed, "ABBY!"

"No Timmy! She's still alive. I know it." She felt Tony stiffen beside her and she turned her head and locked eyes with him. "I know it, and so do you." She was rewarded by a nod and a small smile as he agreed with her assessment of the situation.

Tim immediately turned back to his computer and began to do an immigration search for Asman Hassan. Finding nothing he quickly hacked his way into the server for the CIA's Clandestine Services. Using the name of Eve's asset he still found nothing. He turned back to Tony and frowned, "Nothing."

Tony's eyes held a faraway look for a few minutes then he said, "Nah, there wouldn't be, would there Probie? She's not going to use a traceable identity. She's too smart for that." He gulped and said, "If she's still alive she'll get home, one way or another she'll find a way."

* * *

John Maxwell sat at his desk trying to concentrate on Intel reports. Contrary to popular belief he had had every resource looking for Eve Dupree. His reticence in giving NCIS any information was due to the fact that they just didn't know where she was. The last contact they'd had from her had been approximately six weeks prior. She had picked up her Asset and was headed for the extraction point. The helicopter sent to pick them up had been shot down before it could get to her. Someone on that end had sold out the operation.

John had great faith in his agent's survival instincts. It helped that she had spoke the language and had spent enough time in-country to develop an impressive array of local contacts. He knew that if she were on her own there would be no question; in fact, she most likely would have been home by now. It was the woman and the two children that were the wild cards.

John had spoken to Hamilton Dupree at length about all of the possibilities. He had been dismayed to hear how hard Tony was taking this. It was the fate of anyone who loved a spy. He knew from personal experience, his career choices had cost him his marriage and his children. There would always be uncertainty, and John hoped Tony could hold on until Eve was able to figure a way back.

Hope and faith, those were the only things any of them had to cling to right now.

They weren't much, but then again, at least they had something.

* * *

Midnight had come again, and Tony found himself alone in the apartment for the first time in two weeks. He was also sober, which had become a rarity as well. He took a sip of the coffee cup in front of him and contemplated the future. He knew that no matter how much he believed her promise that she was going to come home, he also knew that there were just some promises that couldn't be kept no matter how much you wanted to.

He drug himself back to the bedroom and lay down, praying that sleep and the comfort of his dreams of her would eventually come. He had talked to Gibbs and had gotten the go ahead to come back to work on Monday. It was time; he'd spent too much time wallowing, and he knew that she be appalled if she could see how he had fallen apart.

The phone next to his bed rang and he quickly grabbed it, "DiNozzo."

"Tony, it's John Maxwell."

"John, what can I do for you?"

"I have good news…"

* * *

Eve sat in the back of the C130 ignoring the turbulence caused by the threat of rain as the plane took her home. She was exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, and all she could think about was kissing Tony then curling up in bed with him and sleeping for a week or so. She looked ruefully at the bruises that still decorated her arms and knew without checking a mirror that her face was worse.

She felt the plane touchdown and come to a stop. She stood and gathered her bag up and walked down the ramp. She saw him standing, waiting for her, and it was all she could do not to run right to him and throw herself into his arms. She felt tears prickle at the back of her eyes as she drank in his appearance. Dreaming about Tony had been the one thing that kept her going when things had gotten bleak. There had been several times that she had thought she was going to die. She had thought about death a lot over the last six weeks, and her only regret was that she and Tony had had so little time together. When she had made him the promise that she would come home she hadn't realized how difficult it would be to keep. She didn't necessarily want to think about some of the things she'd had to do to protect her charges and keep herself alive, but she would have plenty of forced time with the Agency psychologists to deal with that. Right now, the only important thing was Tony.

Tony's green eyes were filled with concern as he watched her slowly walk down the ramp from the plane. He crossed the tarmac and met her at the end of that ramp, his gaze rapidly taking in everything about her appearance. Her face was a mass of bruises and she looked like she was missing about twenty pounds that she could ill afford to lose. He ran a gentle hand over her cheek and pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her neck. "I love you." His voice was husky and filled with too much emotion for her to process.

Eve settled into his arms and felt safe for the first time in weeks. She took a deep breath, inhaling the clean, spicy scent of his cologne and the other scent that was uniquely _Tony_ and felt tears fill her eyes. "I love you too, Tony; it's so good to be home."

* * *

Gibbs watched the reunion from beside the car. He had insisted on driving once Tony had called him with the good news that she was on her way home. He smiled as he watched the two lovers reacquaint themselves with each other. Their happiness made him a bit sad, because he knew that there was no such reunion in his future. The former marine stared as the couple began to make their way over to the car. Eve was a mess. Her arms and face were covered in bruises and she was thin as a rail. He didn't know what had happened to her, but he'd be willing to bet that it hadn't been pleasant. After six weeks of watching Tony slowly crawl into a bottle in grief, it was wonderful to see the happiness that he was exuding. Gibbs' fervent hope was that now he'd get his Senior Field Agent back. Watching Tony as he helped her into the car he knew it was just a matter of time.

Rain had begun to fall as Gibbs chauffeured them towards their apartment. Tony couldn't describe exactly how he was feeling. He pulled her tighter against his chest and smiled when she barely stirred. She had fallen asleep as soon as she had gotten in the car. When they finally got home he helped her inside and into a hot shower before she collapsed on their bed. He stripped down to his boxers and lay down next to her. He smiled when she automatically cuddled next to him, pillowing her head on his chest. This had been what he missed while she was gone; he had missed the feeling of her body next to his and her breath ghosting across his skin. He lay there listening to the gentle tapping of the rain against the window panes as he slowly began to unwind. He took a deep breath and felt content for the first time since she left him. He slowly drifted off to sleep all the while thinking that finally they were both home.

_fin  
_


End file.
